Curious story about 55 million transfer
New Guardiola star used to work at Aldi
19.06.2025 – 6:56 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Tijjani Reijnders is said to strengthen the midfield of Manchester City. At a young age, on the other hand, the Dutch earned something – at the German discounter.
He is the most expensive purchase from Manchester City to date this summer break. The “Sky Blues” paid at least 55 million euros to AC Milan for the desired player of star coach Pep Guardiola: the Dutch Tijjani Reijnders. As the successor to Kevin de Bruyne, he is intended to reinforce the midfield of City and help it significantly to attack both in the Premier League and the Champions League after a Titellos year.
Reijnders continues his remarkable career-because a few years ago, the 26-year-old worked for the Aldi supermarket chain. In the youth area of the PEC Zwolle (2016-17) Reijnders once undercluded, at the time of his mother he also worked on the discounter Aldi. “I filled up shelves, stood at the counter and deserved a few hundred euros a month,” Reijnders recalled in 2023 at the Dutch portal “Nos.nl”.
“You shouldn’t take material things for granted,” was the motto of his parents. “I talked to my family about this contrast, and we agreed that this time was very good for me at Aldi. I saw both sides of the medal,” said Reijnders at the time.
Sportily, the 26-year-old soon went uphill. Via the RKC Waalwijk and Az Alkmaar, Reijnders made the leap into series A, where he developed into one of the most striking central midfielder in Europe at Milan. In the past season, he scored 15 goals in 54 competitive games – more than any other central midfielder in Europe’s top leagues. City reacted and secured the services of the Dutch. Reijnders was introduced in Manchester last week.