Manchester City Cash In on Tijjani Reijnders Sale to Saudi Arabia

Manchester City have approved a £51 million sale of Tijjani Reijnders to Saudi Pro League side Al Qadsiah, according to The Independent, drawing a swift line under the Dutchman’s brief stay at the Etihad.

One season. Forty-seven games. Seven goals. And now, gone.

Reijnders has already agreed personal terms with the Saudi club, sealing a lucrative move after just a single campaign in English football. City, who paid £46.5m to sign him from AC Milan last summer, walk away with a tidy profit and push their outgoing business this window to around £100m.

£51 million sale of Tijjani Reijnders to Al Qadsiah

That figure is no accident. It’s a plan.

Reijnders arrived with promise and started brightly, but as the season wore on his grip on a starting place loosened. The midfield axis solidified around captain Bernardo Silva and Spanish metronome Rodri, leaving the Dutch international increasingly on the fringes when it mattered.

Pep Guardiola, now departed, rarely deviated from that trusted pairing. Reijnders became the odd man out in a department that demanded perfection. By the end, he was more rotation option than cornerstone.

The landscape has shifted again. Silva has moved on, Rodri is being heavily courted by Barcelona, and City’s midfield is being ripped up and redrawn. The club have responded with the kind of financial muscle that has defined their era.

A blockbuster £116m deal for Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson has already been completed, a statement signing that underlines City’s refusal to stand still. They are not trimming. They are reloading.

Reijnders’ sale is only one piece of a broader clear-out. Nathan Ake has joined Fenerbahce, James Trafford has made a permanent switch to Leeds United, and together those exits have supercharged City’s transfer budget. The hierarchy want a fresher, more dynamic squad after leaning on seasoned mainstays for years.

In that context, Reijnders is a casualty of a ruthless reset. His departure frees up both space and funds as City chase a new midfield core aligned with their evolving tactical vision.

The money will not sit idle.

City are already scouring Europe for replacements, with several high-profile targets under serious consideration. Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez has emerged as a surprise name on their list, while Morocco international Ayyoub Bouaddi is also firmly in their sights as they probe the market for the right profile.

As Reijnders prepares to start again in Saudi Arabia, City move aggressively into the next phase of their rebuild. The question now is not whether they will reshape their midfield — it’s which marquee name walks through the Etihad doors next.