Manchester City's extravagant summer spending has been increased further, as they officially announced the signing of Real Madrid full-back Danilo for £26.5 million.

Knew immediately I wanted to be a City player

City manager Pep Guardiola has certainly sent out a message to his Premier League rivals that he means business, as the Catalan looks to rectify a generally disappointing first season at Etihad Stadium where he achieved his first campaign as a manager without picking up silverware.

The Citizens hit the ground running early on as they announced the signings of both Bernardo Silva and Ederson, and broke the bank last week as they broke another world record this time for a defender as they spent in excess of £50m for the services of Kyle Walker.

Guardiola's spending on a full-back's doesn't seem to stop with Danilo as the new world record signing of Benjamin Mendy is to be announced in the coming days after agreeing a £52million fee with Monaco, Danilo completed his medical and personal terms in City's stopover in Los Angeles and he stated that he can't wait to get started.

"I am very, very happy to be joining Manchester City,” Danilo told mancity.com. “There has been strong interest from other Clubs, but it has always been my ambition to play for Pep Guardiola."

"As soon as I heard of his interest, I knew immediately I wanted to be a City player," the Brazilian stated to the club's website. “I can’t wait to get started and I’m looking forward to getting to know my new teammates over the coming weeks.”

Saying one final goodbye

These new signings inevitably mean that some of the old guard that helped City collect their first Premier League title are pushed out, with Joe Hart joining West Ham on loan and the next to depart is full-back Aleksandar Kolarov.

The Serbian has spent almost seven years in Eastlands since signing from Lazio, he shared his desire earlier in the summer to return to the Italian capital and it was announced that the 31-year-old would be doing just that but bitter rivals AS Roma.

It was announced on Sunday that Kolarov had signed a three-year deal at the Stadio Olimpico for a fee believed to be in the region of £4.5m, and in his final City interview he stated his pride at seeing City becoming a "far better club" since arrival.

“When I came in 2010, honestly, I didn’t expect to play so long,” he said. “Today is the day I have to say goodbye.

"Everything was quick the last couple of days. For me, it’s a very sad day," the veteran full-back admitted. “In every part of the Club we have improved not 100 per cent but 200 per cent."

"Now we are a far better club than what we were when I came," Kolarov concluded. "I am proud that I was part of making City the Club that it is."

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.