New Man City signing addresses Man Utd ‘support’ comments ahead of Borussia Dortmund Champions League clash

Manchester City summer signing Manuel Akanji is getting set to face his old teammates as Borussia Dortmund visit the Etihad Stadium in tonight’s Champions League fixture.

The defender joined Pep Guardiola’s side from the Bundesliga club on Deadline Day for a reported fee of £15 million and started in their 4-0 win over Sevilla five days later in what is his only appearance for the club so far.

Despite signing for City, the Swiss international apparently grew up supporting their arch rivals Manchester United and addressed this in a recent interview.

Speaking to Swiss newspaper Blick, and quoted by TalkSPORT, Akanji says he did grow up as a fan of the Red Devils but no longer supports them.

He said: “I was a Manchester United fan growing up, but when you reach a certain level as a player, you’re no longer a fan, because you play against such clubs and you don’t support this club like you did.

“I was then also asked what my goal was. I said I would eventually play for the best club in the world. From this, it was concluded I considered Manchester United to be the best club in the world and I really wanted to play [for them] one day, which I never said…

“When I came to FC Basel, I played in the Champions League and against Manchester United. When the idols become rivals, I got to a point where I stopped being a fan and wanted to do my own job well enough to beat teams like Manchester United.”

Akanji is expected to be given the nod for City’s Champions League clash with old club Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

The 27-year old made over 150 appearances for the Bundesliga side between 2017 and 2022, having began his career in his native Switzerland with FC Winterthur and then FC Basel.

He was a two time Swiss Super League champion and one time Swiss Cup winner with Basel and picked up DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup winners medals with Dortmund.

He represented Switzerland at Under 20 and Under 21 level before earning the first of his 41 senior caps in 2017.