Transfer Centre

Pep Guardiola rules out Riyad Mahrez arrival

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 31 January 2018

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirms that the club will not be signing Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez before the January transfer deadline.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Riyad Mahrez will not be joining the club before the transfer deadline.

City are understood to have made four offers for the Leicester City winger during the January window, the last of which was worth a club-record £65m.

Mahrez handed in a transfer request in an effort to push through the move, but Man City eventually pulled out of negotiations after Leicester demanded a deal worth £95m, including a Man City player heading in the opposite direction.

Mahrez is understood to be "very depressed" at missing out on a move, and Guardiola has now confirmed that his side will not be doing any more business before the 11pm deadline.

"Mahrez is a Leicester player. I don't talk about it too much. The transfer window is over so the guys who are here will finish the season," he told reporters after watching his side beat West Bromwich Albion 3-0.

Man City, who currently sit 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League table, did break their transfer record once in the January window by signing Aymeric Laporte for £57m.