Lack of good food, frequent rain and gloomy weather make Angel di Maria, Carlos Tevez or Nolito dislike living in Manchester, even though Man Utd or Man City are top European teams.
"Sometimes the biggest obstacle in convincing a player to sign for Man Utd or Man City, and stay with the club, is the location," Goal opened its article on July 3.
In the summer of 2017, Dani Alves was very close to joining Man City and reuniting with Pep Guardiola, after a successful time at Barca. The two even had lunch to start planning for the new season at the Etihad Stadium. The Brazilian defender also convinced Juventus to terminate his contract early to speed up the negotiation process. But then, to the surprise of Man City and the anger of Guardiola, Alves pulled out of the transfer to sign a contract with PSG.
The reason is that Alves' wife, model Joana Sanz, does not want to live in Manchester. For some reason, Joana prefers Paris - the so-called City of Love - to the home of two legendary rock bands, Oasis and The Smiths.
A view down Manchester.
Despite undergoing a major transformation in recent years and rivalling New York for skyscrapers, Manchester still lags behind Madrid, Barcelona, Milan and Paris when it comes to attractive places for footballers to live.
Joana - who split from Alves after the Brazilian defender was arrested for alleged sexual assault - is not the only girlfriend or wife of a football star who has had a less than rosy relationship with the city. Angel Di Maria, Carlos Tevez and Nolito have been among the most vocal critics of Manchester, while a desire for a change of scenery and a warmer climate was said to be a major reason why Ilkay Gundogan left City to join Barca on a free transfer this summer. It was also a big factor in Bernardo Silva wanting to leave the Etihad when the transfer window opened.
"You can't compare Manchester to places like Barcelona, where you have perfect food, all-day sunshine and beaches," Goal quoted one expert as saying. "Anyone in the world would want to live there. Where do people go on holiday? Go to Barcelona. There's no city in England that can offer you as much. I don't think Manchester is a bad city but in terms of food, it still leaves something to be desired. Manchester has improved but it's not Paris, Barcelona or even London, which is seen as the New York of Europe."
The lack of good food in Manchester is a common complaint among many footballers' wives and girlfriends . Di Maria's wife described the local food as "disgusting" when her husband was at Man Utd in 2014-15. David de Gea's new wife, Edurne Garcia, doesn't even live in Manchester full-time, despite the Spanish goalkeeper having been at Old Trafford since 2011. She also said the couple struggled to find the best eateries in Manchester, and that these places were not as good as those in Spain.
Similarly, Gundogan's wife, Sara Arfaoui, complained about the lack of quality restaurants last year. "I tried so hard to find a good restaurant but the food was terrible everywhere. Maybe London has good restaurants, but Manchester doesn't. I'm sorry," she said.
Ilkay Gundogan and his wife in a restaurant in Manchester.
Manchester's grey skies and heavy rainfall are the butt of many jokes . Manchester is only the 16th wettest city in Europe. Milan, Munich and Lyon all get more rain, although the weather is rarely mentioned as a reason for players turning down a move to AC Milan, Inter, Lyon or Bayern.
But former Man City winger Nolito caused a stir when he said the lack of sunlight in Manchester had left his daughter's skin discoloured and she looked like she "lived in a cave". A doctor even advised Nolito to give her vitamin D tablets.
Nolito joined City from Celta Vigo, the wettest city in Spain, which averages 5.8mm of rainfall a day compared to 3.2mm in Manchester. So he was used to the wet weather, but struggled to cope with the short days of winter. “We had lunch together, dinner at home, we went for coffee, but it was not good. If it was dark at 5pm, at 6pm it was like 10pm, and you even started to get tired. You think, ‘Fuck, it’s only 6pm’,” the Spaniard told The Guardian.
Nolito didn't have much time to adapt to life in Manchester, having only played for City for one season before returning to Spain to join Sevilla. Sergio Aguero, meanwhile, spent a decade at City, becoming the club's all-time leading scorer with 275 goals, winning five Premier League titles, six League Cups, an FA Cup and three Community Shields.
Despite his popularity with City fans, the Argentine striker seems to have not integrated much into the local culture. In the 2018 documentary "All or Nothing", Aguero said he was lonely, spending most of his free time alone, except when his son and siblings came to visit.
Aguero also barely speaks English and during the Champions League final coverage on BT Sport , the former striker spoke in Spanish, with Cesc Fabregas having to act as his interpreter.
But Aguero has never complained about life in Manchester, unlike his compatriot Carlos Tevez. The former striker played for both Man Utd and Man City, falling out with Man City in the 2011-2012 season when he refused to warm up and came off the bench against Bayern in the Champions League.
Tevez when he played for Man City. Photo: AP
It's not the only incident to anger City fans. In 2011, having lived in Manchester for four years, Tevez said the city was "nothing" and admitted he had made no new friends since moving. "I would never go back, not even on holiday, not for anything," he added.
Another Argentine player who found it difficult to enjoy life in Manchester was Di Maria - the midfielder who joined Man Utd for a record fee of 99 million USD in 2014. But after only one year, he joined PSG due to conflicts with coach Louis van Gaal.
Di Maria's house was burgled while the family were staying there. But his wife, Jorgelina Cardoso, later admitted to hating Manchester even before they started living there. "I didn't want to go to Manchester because at the time I was friends with Gianinna Maradona, who was married to Aguero, and we flew from Madrid to his house in Manchester for two or three days when Di Maria was on leave from Real," Jorgelina said. "It was horrible, we got to the house and were like, 'See you later, we have to go'. When I left, I told Di Maria, go anywhere but England. Anyway, a year later, we went to Manchester and it was horrible."
Cardoso also said she was scared of the "weird" people in the city. Di Maria's wife said: "You walk down the street and you don't know if they're going to kill you. All the girls are dressed like dolls, with perfect make-up and there's me with my hair in a bun and no make-up."
Di Maria's wife has always made it clear that she does not like living in Manchester.
Conversely, some foreign players have enjoyed living in Manchester, with Juan Mata, the midfielder who joined Manchester United after leaving Chelsea in 2014, being the most notable example. The Spaniard started a blog while in London, writing about his experiences in the capital. Upon arriving in Manchester, Mata waxed lyrical about the city’s cultural offerings, writing glowingly about his time in the Northern Quarter with its record shops, and was a regular at the Whitworth Art Gallery.
Mata has maintained his ties to the city since leaving Man Utd for Galatasaray in 2022. Last week, the 35-year-old midfielder returned to Manchester to open an art exhibition called The Trequartista: Art and Football United, featuring a performance art piece in collaboration with German artist Tino Sehgal. "Manchester is my home and I have a lot of people I know here and I'm sure they're happy to have me back and I'm looking forward to coming back to see a lot of my friends. It's a great city," Mata told the Manchester Evening News.
Another of Manchester’s overseas champions is Vincent Kompany. The former Man City captain has campaigned extensively against homelessness in the city, launching his Tackle4MCR charity to raise money and awareness for the cause, and has been praised by Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Kompany is also married to Manchester-born Carla Higg, a lifelong Man City fan.
Hong Duy
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