I joined Man City from Leicester – but lost two years of my career after move was blocked.
The latest Manchester City news as Riyad Mahrez joined the club from Leicester City back in 2018 but was close to a move two years earlier.
Riyad Mahrez sees two of his former teams come up against each other on Sunday when Manchester City travel to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City.
The Algerian winger helped the Foxes to promotion to the Premier League after arriving from France in January 2014. He then helped them to survival before being a big part of the shock title win in 2016.
He stayed at Leicester for a further two seasons before joining City in the summer of 2018 for a £60 million fee. But has previously shared about how a move to another club could have happened sooner, only for Leicester to block it.
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Speaking to France Football back in 2019, when he was at City, Mahrez said: “After the title, if I’d left for a top team, it wouldn’t have been the same story.
“For me, it’s clear that I lost two years at the highest level. I lost two years! Because instead of arriving at City at 27, I could have been there at 24, 25.
“Leicester blocked me. They told me: ‘You’re not leaving, you’re not leaving’. My agent had spoken to [Arsene] Wenger who really wanted me. It was nearly all done with Arsenal in 2016. I was really frustrated.
“It wasn’t easy to go from being the best player in the Premier League to being a part of a team fighting against relegation. It’s not the same job. Everyone is waiting for you around the corner.”
Mahrez went onto stay at City for five seasons helping the team to lift the Premier League title four times, as well as the Champions League in 2023. He left the following summer, moving to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Ahli.
