Mateo Kovacic has penned an emotional farewell message to Chelsea fans after officially completing his move to Manchester City.
A deal worth an initial £25million plus a further £5m in add-ons that sees the Croatian midfielder swap Stamford Bridge for the Etihad Stadium was finally confirmed on Tuesday evening.
Kovacic forms part of a major summer exodus at Chelsea, where he was entering the final 12 months of his contract and had not agreed an extension.
The Blues are poised to offload several players including the likes of Kai Havertz, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Edouard Mendy and Hakim Ziyech, with Kalidou Koulibaly already gone and N’Golo Kante set to follow him to Saudi Arabia.
Manchester United want to sign Mason Mount amid new interest in Romelu Lukaku from Serie A, while Chelsea are also seeking exits for other first-team players such as Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ethan Ampadu.
The likes of Marc Cucurella and Malang Sarr could also leave, with Chelsea having clinched the £30m arrival of Senegalese forward Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal and aiming to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, having already welcomed France striker Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig this summer.
Kovacic is among the most high-profile Chelsea departures, joining Treble winners City as a replacement for outgoing captain Ilkay Gundogan, taking his No8 shirt as he prepares to join Barcelona.
He leaves the Bridge after a five-year stint that began with a successful season-long loan spell from Real Madrid, winning plenty of major silverware including the Champions League, Europa League, Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup.
Kovacic also reached four domestic finals in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, making a total of 221 appearances across all competitions for Chelsea.
In his parting message to Blues fans, the 29-year-old said that playing for Chelsea had been an “incredible pleasure” but admitted he had reached the right time to move on as he also lamented a torrid 2022/23 campaign for the club as a whole.
“It’s been an incredible pleasure to play for such a great club and win some of the biggest trophies in the sport,” Kovacic wrote on Instagram.
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“Chelsea is a club I have loved every second of being at but the time has come for me to move on. It’s been a tough 12 months for everyone and I think we can all agree it hasn’t been to the usual Chelsea standards but I’ve enjoyed my time here in London. See you soon, Mateo.”
Chelsea also paid tribute to their outgoing midfielder, hailing Kovacic as “a consummate professional”.
The club said: “We thank Kova for all his efforts on and off the pitch during his time at Stamford Bridge.”
