Anderson Dismisses United Rumors, Affirms City Commitment

Anderson has shut down talk he ever came close to joining Manchester United, revealing that even a holiday encounter with a group of Old Trafford players was never going to change his mind about signing for City.

Speaking at a fan event at the City club store on Wednesday, the England international was asked directly about long-standing rumours that United had made him a priority target before City swooped. The story has followed him all summer. He sounded tired of it, but clear.

He admitted the meetings happened. The temptation never did.

"I was just golfing in Portugal and bumped into a few and had a nice chat and stuff like that, but I had a decision to make and I chose City," he said.

That choice, he insists, was rooted in something far stronger than a transfer pitch over a fairway. Anderson has already nailed his colours to the Etihad mast after his high-profile move, and he made it plain that his personal history meant there was only one club in Manchester he truly saw as home.

"I've seen a few things. It was blown out of proportion," he said of the United links. "I was probably eight or nine when [Sergio] Aguero scored that goal. I've been watching City for the past 10 years. You've got a big decision to make – and I’m confident I've made the right one."

That Aguero moment, that title-clinching goal, is a reference point for an entire generation of younger City supporters. Anderson counts himself among them. For him, this move is not just a step up in his career; it is a walk into the stadium he grew up watching on television, into the shirt he imagined wearing.

At the heart of that dream sits another City great: Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian’s influence on Anderson is obvious. The midfielder talked openly about how he studied De Bruyne throughout his formative years, tracking his movement, his timing, his passing angles.

"De Bruyne was always the player I looked up to over the last 10 years," Anderson revealed. "I loved watching him. To be here at the same club and playing where he played is special."

Now the spotlight moves to his first competitive outing. Anderson is set for his debut in Sunday’s Community Shield against Arsenal at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, and he will do it wearing a number with its own recent history at City.

He has chosen the No 5 shirt, previously worn by John Stones, a player who has helped ease his arrival into the dressing room.

"I had a few numbers to choose from and obviously Stonesy was the last number five and he was really good with me in the summer and I thought it would be a great touch to take that," Anderson said.

A childhood shaped by Aguero, a game modelled on De Bruyne, a number inherited from Stones. Anderson has made his choice. Now he has to live up to the shirt in a City side that knows exactly what elite looks like.