Manchester City Break U18 Transfer Record for Ayyoub Bouaddi
Manchester City have not eased off the accelerator since Pep Guardiola walked away in the summer. If anything, the spending has gone up a gear.
After dropping €135 million on Elliot Anderson, City have now completed a blockbuster move for Lille sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi, confirming a deal that tears up the record books for teenage transfers.
The 18-year-old, who lit up the World Cup with Morocco this summer, joins the Premier League champions for a total package worth €100m — €95m guaranteed, with a further €5m in add-ons. He has signed a five-year contract running until 2031.
In the club’s announcement, Bouaddi made no attempt to hide what the move means to him. “Manchester City are, for me, the best Club in the world. It’s a dream to be here and be able to call myself a City player. I have spent most of my life working hard to become the best player I can be and reach the top of the game,” he said.
City reshape midfield with bold gamble
The deal lands just days after City sanctioned the departure of 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who joined Barcelona in a transfer worth €76.5m including add-ons. One era in City’s midfield has closed; another is being built at enormous cost.
Bouaddi’s current market value sits at around €80m, but this has been a summer where asking prices have rarely matched the spreadsheets. With fees spiralling across Europe, a nine-figure offer always looked like the number that would drag Lille to the table and get the move done.
City have paid it. And in doing so, they have not just nudged a record. They have blown it apart.
A record obliterated
Bouaddi is now the most expensive U18 player in football history by a distance. The €100m fee is more than double the previous benchmark.
That old record also involved Lille. Manchester United set it when they paid the French club €62m to sign defender Leny Yoro in the 2024/25 season. That deal now slides down into second place.
Behind them, the list is a roll call of the game’s most hyped teenagers. Endrick sits third. Chelsea’s Estêvão is fourth. Real Madrid, as ever, are threaded through the story, having moved aggressively for Franco Mastantuono, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo when each turned 18, paying €45m apiece.
- Further down, Tottenham’s €41.4m swoop for Archie Gray from Leeds takes eighth place.
- Alessandro Bastoni’s switch to Inter sits ninth.
- Wolves’ €40m outlay on striker Fábio Silva completes the current top 10.
That reshuffle pushes another notable name out of the elite bracket. Manchester United’s 2014 signing of Luke Shaw from Southampton, once a landmark move at €37.5m, finally drops out of the top 10 after 12 years.
City, meanwhile, have planted their flag at the top of a new financial frontier. The question now is simple: can an 18-year-old justify the biggest teenage fee football has ever seen?
