Manchester City have completed the world record signing of Ederson Moraes, the Brazilian goalkeeper, according to Benfica. The selling club announced to the Portuguese stock exchange this morning that they had sold Ederson for a fee of €40 million (£34.95 million).
That eclipses the £32.6 million fee Juventus paid Parma for Gianluigi Buffon in 2001. Until now that was the highest sum paid for a goalkeeper.
City are yet to formally announce the signing of the 23-year-old as they are waiting for the Premier League to ratify the deal. It is investigating third-party ownership issues regarding the player.
The goalkeeper’s economic rights are owned by Benfica, Rio Ave, his former club, and agent Jorge Mendes’s Gestifute agency.
“In accordance with and for the purpose of Article 248 of the Securities Code, Benfica have reached an agreement with Manchester City Football club Limited for the transfer of the athlete Ederson Santana de Moraes for a fee of €40,000,000 (forty million euros) if there is a commitment to deliver 50% of the added value obtained in this transfer to third parties,” a Benfica statement read.
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Ederson is back in Lisbon after completing his medical. He has recorded an interview with City’s website which will be published when the Premier League ratifies the transfer.
Last night, the goalkeeper gave a brief soundbite to Portuguese newspaper A Bola after landing in the Portuguese capital. “I’m very happy,” he said. “The first impressions were very good.”
Ederson is yet to be capped by Brazil, but is highly regarded on the continent. He broke into the Benfica first team last season and has been instrumental in the club’s championship-winning campaign this term. Benfica had the best defensive record in the Portuguese league this season, conceding just 18 goals in 34 matches.
The Brazilian looks set to start the season as City’s No 1, with Claudio Bravo expected to start the campaign as back up. The Chilean endured a terrible first season at City following his £15.4 million move from Barcelona and ended the campaign as second choice to Willy Caballero.
Caballero, along with four other City players, will leave the club at the end of his contract on June 30. The club have wasted no time in bringing in replacements for Caballero, Gaël Cichy, Bacary Sagna, Jesús Navas and Pablo Zabaleta.
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They signed Bernardo Silva from Monaco in a £43 million deal last week and they are now pursuing Virgil van Dijk of Southampton, Monaco’s Benjamin Mendy, Arsenal’s Alexis Sánchez and Tottenham right back Kyle Walker following the capture of Ederson.
