Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega has revealed he turned down the club twice before eventually joining them.
The German has been speaking to DAZN in Germany about his time at the Etihad so far after arriving on a free transfer in the summer of 2022 when his contract with Arminia Bielefeld came to an end.
He arrived very much as the number two to Ederson and has played that role superbly over the last year, with 17 appearances to his name so far.
That doesn’t mean he hasn’t made an impression, though, often impressing and playing a key role as they’ve won several cup competitions including the FA Cup and European Super Cup.
The decision to sign him was one that certainly raised eyebrows at the time given the career the 31-year-old had enjoyed to date, with stints at Arminia Bielefeld and TSV 1860 Munich not amounting to much.
Indeed, the move to Manchester City is undoubtedly the biggest of his career but he insists he didn’t jump to it and had to be convinced by those in charge at the Etihad before accepting.
“It took me a long time to decide on Manchester City. I showed them that I wasn’t the clown they brought in as number two,” he said.
“I flew to London and watched Brentford’s last home game there. Then I was told: ‘You could fly on to Manchester tomorrow and meet the goalkeeping coach there.’ I said, ‘I’m getting married on Friday, I’m flying home.’
“Then my agency had a word with me. They said, ‘Stefan, think about it, this is a huge opportunity for you.’ But I said that I was flying back because I wanted to sort out everything for the wedding with my wife.
“At first we wanted to cancel, but then we agreed with Manchester City to make a phone call instead. Sometimes you just have to know your worth and sell. Then it was just about City and Brentford, and it took a long time before I decided on City.
“In the end I only accepted the third offer. City could have said: ‘What does the crazy guy from Arminia Bielefeld want who says no all the time?’
“In retrospect, that helped me when I started there because I showed them that I wasn’t the clown they brought in as number two and did everything they wanted, but I showed that I had a personality.”
