Stefan Ortega reveals the Premier League club he snubbed to sign with Manchester City

Manchester City keeper Stefan Ortega revealed which Premier League club he turned down in order to sign with Premier League champions.

The former Arminia Bielefeld shot-stopper shocked many when he opted to sign for Manchester City and become Ederson’s understudy between the sticks, but he has shown his worth since landing at the Etihad.

The German was called upon by Pep Guardiola on a few big occasions during the 2023/24 campaign, most notably making starts against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, and against Manchester United in the FA Cup Final.

Despite the success, Stefan Ortega revealed that he was close to signing with another Premier League club earlier in the same transfer window, before being ultimately enticed to join the Blues as the number two goalkeeper.

“It took me a long time to decide on Manchester City,” Ortega said in an interview with DAZN, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness. “We agreed with Manchester City to make a phone call. 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.”

Looking back on his first season with Manchester City, Stefan Ortega Moreno was overjoyed with his role he played in the Treble winning campaign. “I think I took a huge step last year by not only getting the cup games, but also the game in Dortmund.”

Ortega has already made some key starts for City in the opening months of the 2023/24 season. The German was between the sticks for City’s comeback victory against RB Leipzig in the Champions League earlier this week.

Though, his strong showings when spelling Ederson has not seemed to threaten the Brazilian international, as he firmly remains Manchester City and his country’s number one choice for the foreseeable future.