Aleksandar Pavlovic refused Manchester City move
The 22-year-old Bayern midfielder declined City’s advances despite reported willingness to pay up to €100 million.
Manchester City identified Aleksandar Pavlovic as a top midfield target this year, but the 22-year-old midfielder declined the chance to leave Bayern Munich despite sustained interest from the English club.
City reportedly tracked Pavlovic since March and considered him a primary option to replace Rodri in the holding midfield role. The club was allegedly prepared to pay up to 100 million euros for the transfer, but Pavlovic—born in Munich and of Serbian descent—was not interested in moving.
Personal approach and coaching change
By spring it had become clear within the German club that Pep Guardiola would step down as manager and that Enzo Maresca would be appointed as his successor. Maresca is said to have tried personally to persuade Pavlovic to accept a move to Manchester, but the player remained unmoved and no official offer was ever sent by City.
Manchester City still overhauled their midfield during the recent transfer window. Rodri moved to Barcelona, Bernardo Silva to Real Madrid, Tijjani Reijnders to Al Qadisiyah and Nico Gonzalez to Newcastle. For incoming reinforcements the club signed Elliot Anderson (reported fee 135 million euros from Nottingham Forest), Ayub Buadi (95 million euros, from Lille) and Enzo Fernandez (145 million euros from Chelsea), a total of 375 million euros spent on midfield additions.
Pavlovic is a product of Bayern’s youth academy and featured prominently for the first team last season, appearing in 44 matches with four goals and two assists. He made his debut for the German national team in June 2024 and has accumulated 15 caps so far.
The refusal to consider the move keeps Pavlovic in Bavaria for now and closes the chapter on Manchester City’s pursuit, at least for this transfer window.
Photo: press material from the event
