Manchester City’s rising star Nico O’Reilly has revealed why he snubbed offers from Manchester United and Liverpool to join the City. The 20-year-old is the latest prodigy to emerge from City’s esteemed youth set-up 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. His mother Holli gave him the freedom to choose his own destiny, leading to a pivotal decision. “It was narrowed down to City and United,” he told Mail Sport, noting that even Everton and the Reds had shown an interest in him.
“Training here [City] 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,” he added.
The young attacking midfielder made his competitive debut in this season’s Community Shield, where City beat United in a penalty shootout. Having progressed through City’s youth system under coach Ben Wilkinson, O’Reilly secured his first Premier League start in the club’s 2-0 victory against Leicester City on Wednesday, reports the Manchester Evening News.
However, O’Reilly has really made his mark 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.
The young talent was pivotal in City’s tense 2-1 quarter-final victory over Bournemouth too. 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 cheers.
This season also saw O’Reilly’s introduction to the Champions League stage against Sparta Prague. Impressively, he was named in every Champions League squad for City, except for the last-16 away defeat at Real Madrid.
Having started his career as a left back at City’s academy, O’Reilly still takes the time to visit his former team-mates and keeps up with their performances, such as a recent match 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. 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.
