Anderson Dismisses Manchester United Rumors, Embraces City Dream
Anderson has shut down talk that he ever came close to joining Manchester United, insisting his heart was set on City long before he signed on at the Etihad.
Speaking at a fan event at the City club store on Wednesday, the England international tackled the long-running rumours that United had made him a priority target before City sealed the deal. The story went that a group of United players tried to sway him while he was on holiday. The meetings happened. The move never did.
"I was just golfing in Portugal and bumped into a few and had a nice chat and stuff like that, but I had a decision to make and I chose City," he said, making it clear there was no tug of war in his mind.
The links to the red half of Manchester were always going to follow a player of his profile. Yet Anderson’s own past meant the choice felt far more personal than any transfer battle between two rivals. He grew up watching City, not United, and that history has shaped every step of this move.
"I've seen a few things. It was blown out of proportion," he said of the speculation. "I was probably eight or nine when [Sergio] Aguero scored that goal. I've been watching City for the past 10 years. You've got a big decision to make - and I’m confident I've made the right one."
That line drew a clear blue line under the saga. For Anderson, this is not just a lucrative switch or a tactical fit. It is a move into the club that defined his football education.
At the heart of that education sits one name: Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian’s influence on the modern midfielder is obvious, and Anderson did not hide how much the City playmaker shaped him.
"De Bruyne was always the player I looked up to over the last 10 years," he revealed. "I loved watching him. To be here at the same club and playing where he played is special."
Now the theory becomes reality. Anderson is set for his competitive debut in Sunday’s Community Shield against Arsenal at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, the first real glimpse of how he fits into a City side that has been built around technical excellence and relentless standards.
He will do it wearing number five. On the surface, it is just a squad number. Inside the dressing room, it carries weight.
The shirt previously belonged to John Stones, a cornerstone of City’s recent success and a teammate who has already helped Anderson settle into life in Manchester. That connection mattered when the midfielder was handed a list of available numbers.
"I had a few numbers to choose from and obviously Stonesy was the last number five and he was really good with me in the summer and I thought it would be a great touch to take that," Anderson said.
A childhood shaped by Aguero, a game modelled on De Bruyne, a shirt number nodding to Stones. Anderson has planted himself firmly on the blue side of Manchester. Now comes the only part that really counts at City: proving it on the pitch.
