Tijjani Reijnders Set for £52m Move to Al-Qadsiah After Manchester City Spell
Manchester City are ready to cash in on Tijjani Reijnders, with the Dutch midfielder set for a £52m move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Qadsiah after just one season at the Etihad.
Reijnders arrived in Manchester last summer as a headline signing from AC Milan, fresh from being named Serie A’s Best Midfielder for the 2024/25 campaign. City paid £46.5m to bring him in, a deal that underlined their intent to refresh an already star-studded midfield.
Twelve months on, his time in England is almost over.
It is a ruthless decision, but not an unprecedented one in the Premier League era. Big names have come and gone in a flash before, sometimes victims of timing, sometimes of system, sometimes of sheer competition for places.
Hernan Crespo knows that story well.
Crespo: Chelsea’s short-lived superstar
Crespo arrived at Chelsea in the summer of 2003 as one of the marquee faces of the Roman Abramovich revolution. Just three years earlier, Lazio had broken the world transfer record to sign him. A season at Inter Milan followed, then came the move to Stamford Bridge, where he was billed as the elite finisher to spearhead a new era.
He did not flop. Far from it.
Crespo scored 12 goals in 31 games in his debut season for Chelsea, showing flashes of the penalty-box predator who had terrorised defences across Europe. But the club’s ambitions were moving at breakneck speed. The following summer, Didier Drogba arrived from Marseille, and the landscape changed overnight.
Crespo was pushed out, sent on loan to AC Milan. He would return in 2005/06 and play his part in Chelsea’s Premier League title success, then depart again at the end of that season, this time back to Inter. A big name, a big fee, and yet only a fleeting chapter in the club’s history.
Angel Di Maria’s Manchester United spell followed a similar pattern, only with more turbulence.
Di Maria: Record fee, rapid exit
Manchester United smashed the British transfer record in 2014 to prise Di Maria from Real Madrid. The club had just endured a dismal season under David Moyes after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and turned to Louis van Gaal and a superstar signing to reset the project.
Di Maria arrived as a Champions League winner, a driving force in Real Madrid’s European triumph the previous season. He started like a player fully in his pomp, lighting up early games with his dribbling and creativity.
Then it all unravelled.
He struggled to settle in Manchester, and his relationship with Van Gaal deteriorated badly. Di Maria later reflected on how quickly the mood shifted.
"Things started really well," he said. "Everything was flowing. Then I started to have issues with Van Gaal and from there everything fell apart. Like I said, I started really well. Everything was perfect. But then suddenly we started having lots of meetings about all the things I was doing wrong on the pitch.
"He never showed me what I was doing well, just the negatives, over and over. Eventually I got fed up."
Life off the pitch offered little escape.
"Life there was very different. It gets dark really early and then the cold started. Everything kept snowballing. There was also the break-in at my house.
"When all of that happens; when you are not playing, when things aren't going well for you, when you have problems inside the club, it ends up affecting you a lot. It made me hate being there.
"I got robbed in Paris too and still stayed for another two or three years, because life there was good. In Manchester, everything just snowballed. I wanted to prioritise my family and that is why I left."
United sold him to Paris Saint-Germain at a £15.7m loss after just one season. A record signing, gone before he had truly found his feet.
Christian Benteke offers another reminder of how quickly the Premier League can move on.
Benteke: From focal point to expendable
Liverpool turned to Benteke as their new attacking focal point when they triggered his £32.5m release clause at Aston Villa. The Belgian had been prolific in the Midlands, scoring 49 goals in 101 games and bullying defences with his power and aerial dominance.
He made an immediate impact at Anfield, marking his home debut with the winner against Bournemouth. The stage looked set for him to become the main man in Liverpool’s attack.
Then systems changed, managers changed, and the fit no longer felt quite right. For all his qualities, Benteke soon found himself on the periphery, another big-money signing whose time at a major Premier League club proved shorter than expected.
Reijnders now joins that lineage: a decorated arrival, a substantial fee, and a swift departure.
For City, the numbers make sense. They stand to bank a profit on a player signed only a year ago. For Reijnders, Al-Qadsiah offers a fresh start and a leading role, rather than a battle for minutes in one of the most competitive midfields in world football.
The Premier League will move on quickly. The question, as always, is whether the player will too.
