Manchester City teenager Matondo moves to Schalke
Jadon Sancho and Brahim Diaz have already left City for Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively after failing to break into Pep Guardiola's City squad, Riyad Mahrez's July 2018 arrival for a then club-record £60million pushing them down the pecking order.
Matondo, an 18-year-old winger capped once by Wales, has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal at Schalke, who face City in the last 16 of the Champions League next month.
City and Schalke have not confirmed the fee for a player that has never been named in a matchday squad by Guardiola, but reports have suggested the Bundesliga side have paid €13million.
#BLTransfers @s04_en
From Manchester to Gelsenkirchen - welcome to the #Bundesliga, Rabbi #Matondo pic.twitter.com/81Syyxo2Ql
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) January 30, 2019
"Before coming here I already knew a bit about Schalke: Mesut Ozil, Ivan Rakitic and Leroy Sane all took big steps in their careers here,” said Matondo.
"As well as that, I had some good chats with the coach and my new team-mates only had good things to say. The Bundesliga is a great league too.
"Schalke is the right decision for my career and I'm happy to now be a part of this club and their future plans."
Best of luck to @rabbi_matondo who has today joined @s04_en on a permanent deal #mancity pic.twitter.com/TfGcBTQ0Gd
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 30, 2019
Schalke's 33-year-old coach Domenico Tedesco confirmed Matondo has been a target for some time.
"We have been interested in Rabbi for a long time, because we are impressed with his potential," he told Schalke's website.
"He is extremely quick and technically strong. We can't forget how young he is though.
"We will give him the time he needs to find his feet at Schalke and in the Bundesliga."
Sancho has made a stunning impact since leaving City for Dortmund, helping his new club top the Bundesliga and breaking into the England team, while Diaz has made one brief appearance off the bench in LaLiga since joining Madrid for a reported €15m this month.