Manchester City signed highly rated teenage midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille on Wednesday, getting a rising star seen as the Premier League giant's long-term replacement for Rodri.
The 18-year-old Morocco international has signed a five-year contract, City said. No financial details were given but French sports daily L'Equipe and the BBC were among those reporting the transfer fee to be 100 million euros ($117 million).
Bouaddi, a deep-lying midfielder, is being viewed as the long-term replacement for 2024 men's Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who recently joined Barcelona after helping Spain win the World Cup.
City's midfield rebuild under manager Enzo Maresca, who has replaced Pep Guardiola, has also seen the club spend $155 million on England international Elliot Anderson and is unlikely to stop there, given Bernardo Silva has already left after his contract expired and Nico Gonzalez has traveled to Newcastle to tie up a transfer. Reports in the British media say City retains an interest in Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
The fee makes Bouaddi the most expensive player sold from the French league, surpassing the 90 million euros Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal paid to get Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
“This is a very special day for me and my family,” Bouaddi said. “I’ve watched City for many years, and I love their style of play. City always try and play quality football. And they have shown they are winners, this club feels like it’s built to win.”
Although Bouaddi impressed at the World Cup with his assured touch, tactical understanding and maturity, he had already caught the eye two years ago.
At the start of his career he was being touted as Lille’s best midfielder since Eden Hazard, who left to become a Premier League star with Chelsea.
Bouaddi joined Lille’s academy in 2021 and, just three days after his 16th birthday, became the youngest player to appear in a European game in a Europa Conference League match last October against KI Klaksvík.
City's director of football, Hugo Viana, described Bouaddi as “a player equipped with everything a top midfielder needs.”
“At just 18, he already has outstanding football intelligence and that will only improve under the guidance of Enzo,” Viana said.
“We have watched him very, very closely and throughout that process we have become increasingly convinced he is a huge talent who will thrive at City.”
Bouaddi's skill set may be lacking in one area: goals. He did not score in 96 games for Lille and has yet to find the net in eight games for Morocco.
“I am only 18. I am happy with the progress I have made so far, but I also know I can improve so much,” he said. “This is undoubtedly the best place for me to do that.”
Lille has earned a reputation as one of best sellers of talented players in European soccer.
The northern club sold Ivory Coast forward Nicolas Pépé to Arsenal in 2019 for 80 million euros and Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen went to Napoli the following year for a similar amount.
Manchester United paid 62 million euros for central defender Leny Yoro two years ago.
Last year, goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier was sold to Paris Saint-Germain for 40 million euros and center back Bafodé Diakité went to Bournemouth, for around the same fee.
City beat Bournemouth 2-1 in its season opener on Sunday thanks to a pair of late goals, marking a successful start to Maresca's tenure following the departure of Guardiola after a trophy-laden, 10-year spell.
In that game, Maresca played Marc Guehi — a center back — as a holding midfielder, a sign that City was short of options in that area. Bouaddi will solve that and could make his debut against Crystal Palace on Friday.
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Manchester City's head coach Enzo Maresca reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Bournemouth in Manchester, England, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
FILE - Morocco's Ayyoub Bouaddi vies for the ball during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and Morocco in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, file)
BUÑOL, Spain (AP) — Thousands of revelers descended on Buñol on Wednesday for the annual La Tomatina food fight, where they painted the small Spanish town red with up to 165 tons of overripe tomatoes.
Loaded trucks plodded through the crowd with people in their cargo beds throwing tomatoes at the revelers — who, in turn, hurled them at one another. Their white shirts soon turned pink and red while pop songs blasted from speakers. At one point, police appeared to use pepper spray to disperse an area of the crowd, but a festive vibe quickly resumed.
The messy melee takes place for over an hour in the town, where buildings are covered with tarps ahead of the festivities. Held on the last Wednesday of August, the festival traces its origins to a food fight in 1945.
La Tomatina became an annual tradition before Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco banned it in the 1950s. Televised media attention in the 1980s helped turn the festival into a national event, and eventually, an international attraction.
More than 20,000 people had been expected to take part this year, with the Spanish news agency EFE reporting this week that roughly 40% of participants over the past three years have been tourists from outside Spain.
There has been a notable jump in visitors from India in recent years, following the 2011 Bollywood movie “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” (“You Only Live Once”), in which three friends take a road-trip through Spain during an extended bachelor party. The film recreated La Tomatina, introducing the festival to many Indians.
The movie is what first drew Romail Khokhar, a 27-year-old from Mumbai, to Buñol. He was there on Wednesday morning, eager to participate in the food fight for his third time.
“I feel really great, actually. It's the best festival that I ever had, and I enjoy a lot here,” said Khokhar, who owns a clothing business.
Similar tomato-flinging events have taken place in Florida, London, Amsterdam, the Colombian town of Sutamarchán and Hyderabad, India.
Non-local attendees pay 15 euros ($17.50) for a ticket. The first and only rule: Squash your tomatoes before hurling them to avoid injuries. Still, many participants don swimming goggles and earplugs for protection.
Once the hour is up, the sound of a cannon blast marks the end of festivities and crowds wash off at communal showers nearby. The town's streets are later hosed down.
Though stains on clothes can be permanent, the tomatoes' citric acid acts as a cleaning agent, often leaving Buñol’s streets cleaner than before.
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers throw tomatoes at each other during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers cheer ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers from India pose for a picture ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
A reveler dressed in a tomato costume poses for a picture before the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers Vigu, left, and Megha from India pose for a picture ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Revelers ahead of the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
