Aleksandar Pavlovic reportedly turned down a summer move to Manchester City, despite the Premier League club being prepared to offer up to €100m for the Bayern Munich midfielder.
The 22-year-old is regarded as one of Europe’s most promising young midfielders and has continued to establish himself in the Bayern Munich first team. He has made 106 appearances for the German champions, scoring 12 and grabbing five goals in the Bundesliga alone.
Pavlovic’s progress has also been recognised at international level. The Germany midfielder has been an important part of manager Jurgen Klopp’s plans during the international break, fitting the coach’s high-tempo approach.
Klopp was particularly impressed after Germany’s third Nations League match against Greece, saying: “What a game by Pavlovic. He was everywhere!”
The midfielder’s growing profile was followed this week by reports that he had rejected the chance to join Manchester City, choosing to remain with Bayern Munich instead.
According to Florian Plettenburg, Manchester City had been pursuing Pavlovic since March and held concrete discussions over a possible transfer. Bayern were also informed that the English club were willing to pay as much as €100m for the player.
“Manchester City had been pushing to sign Aleksandar Pavlovic since March. There were concrete talks,” Plettenburg reported.
“FC Bayern were informed that #MCFC were prepared to pay up to €100m - long before they signed Bouaddi/Fernandez.
“Pavlovic felt honoured by the interest and thought about it. But ultimately, he said NO. No negotiations with Bayern took place.”
Pavlovic’s decision meant that Manchester City’s approach did not progress to negotiations with Bayern Munich. The German club were aware of the scale of the proposed offer, but the player ultimately chose not to pursue a move.
City went on to spend more than £200m on Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi during the summer. The trio joined Enzo Maresca’s squad after Pavlovic had rejected Manchester City’s approach.