FC Twente striker Manfred Ugalde has admitted he still harbours the dream of playing for Manchester City one day, even if his chance at the club didn’t work out.
The 21-year-old has been speaking to Voetbal International about his career, with comments relayed by FC Twente Insite.
The youngster has had something of a varied career up to this point, starting with Saprissa in his native Costa Rica before being scooped up by the City Football Group in 2020.
That saw him move to Belgian club Lommel as they tried to establish him in Europe, but he struggled with them and instead was sent on loan to Twente in 2021.
He soon settled at the Dutch club and started to impress, so much so that they elected to pay €4m to sign him on a permanent basis in July this year.
He’s been steadily impressing since then, with three goals and three assists in 12 games in the Eredivisie this season and a goal and an assist in six games in the Europa Conference League.
“My agent called to say he had a few options for me. One of them was the City Group. What is that? I asked him,” he said regarding him joining the City Group.
“The scouts had painted him the whole picture, about players who can grow in a network of clubs. I was quickly convinced. My goal naturally became to reach the highest step. Manchester City, Aguero’s club.
“I knew that a lot of talents are attracted to the City Group every year, that not everyone the Premier League, but every player will board the plane with the same dream.”
“Everything has become easier since I started playing at FC Twente. My teammates, the staff, the supporters; from the first day I came here as a loan player, they have taken care of me so well. I am grateful to them all for that.”
“Oh well, I know how it works. City have so many players to choose from. They can buy whoever they want. They already have Haaland in my place. He’s also a nice striker. Maybe one day, in a roundabout way, I can still join City. But I am very happy that I am now at FC Twente.”
