Young Manchester City midfielder Nico O’Reilly has been one of the club’s brightest stars this season but he could have easily found himself playing for one of City’s Premier League rivals
Manchester City starlet Nico O’Reilly has opened up on how he turned down Manchester United and Liverpool to join City. The 20-year-old has emerged as the latest talent off the City production line this season.
Choosing to sign for City at just eight-years-old, O’Reilly is now a regular in Pep Guardiola’s squad. However the reality could have been somewhat different.
As it turned out, his mother Holli let him choose his own path and the rest was history. “It was narrowed down to City and United,” he told Mail Sport, even Liverpool and Everton were both said to be keen on him as well.
“Training here was so much better. At the other clubs it was just run around, play games – it wasn’t really helping you out. It was a bit of fun.”
The attacking midfielder’s competitive debut came in this season’s Community Shield victory over United on penalties. Coming through City’s youth set-up under coach Ben Wilkinson, O’Reilly earned his first Premier League start in the club’s 2-0 win against Leicester City on Wednesday, April 2.
This came after brief appearances against Ipswich Town and Newcastle United earlier on in the season. However, O’Reilly has really carved out a name for himself in this season’s FA Cup, as he looks to be the next name after the likes of Phil Foden and Rico Lewis to make the grade at City.
O’Reilly scored his first goal for City in the third round, 8-0 demolition of League Two side Salford City. He then scored a brace in City’s 3–1 home win over Championship outfit Plymouth Argyle in the cup’s fifth round.
Another big moment for the youngster came in City’s 2-1 over Bournemouth in the quarter-final. While he didn’t get on the scoresheet, he walked off the pitch with both assists, flanked by Guardiola who marched him over to the away end to soak up the fan’s admiration.
He also made his Champions League debut against Sparta Prague this season and was also included in every City squad in the Champions League this season, bar the last-16 away defeat to Real Madrid.
O’Reilly began life as a left back in the academy and stills regularly pays a visit to his old team-mates. He says he keeps an eye on results, attending a recent defeat against Crystal Palace.
Speaking on an episode of the Official Man City Podcast in 2024, O’Reilly delved further into why City was the only choice for him.
“I started [playing] when I was three or four,” he said. “I was at a few grassroots teams at the same time so my mum would take me from one game to another, rushing around.
“The first team that scouted me was actually United and then City came in for me as well as Liverpool and Everton. Before you sign a contract you train with all the teams so I was doing that for a bit.
“I had a choice when I was Under-8s and Under-9s out of City and United. I chose City because the training was a lot better.”
O’Reilly will now be hoping he can make an impact against the team he could have joined as City face United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
2025-04-05 14:34:40
