Elliot Anderson insists he never came close to a move to Old Trafford despite the attempts of some Manchester United players to persuade him while he was on holiday.
The 23-year-old became the most expensive British player in history when his £116 million ($156m) move to City from Nottingham Forest was announced in June during the World Cup before that deal was eclipsed last month by the £117m ($158m) Chelsea paid Aston Villa for Morgan Rogers.
United had been reported to have made Anderson their primary transfer target at the end of last season before pulling out of the race for his signature.
Anderson was introduced to fans at the Etihad Stadium club store on Wednesday alongside latest signing Gerónimo Rulli, plus Marc Guéhi and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Elliot Anderson was part of England's World Cup squad. Photo by Sarah Stier - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images When asked about his conversations with some United players on holiday, Anderson said: "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."
Asked if United came close to persuading him to move to Old Trafford, Anderson replied: "No."
The former Newcastle midfielder started all of England's World Cup games until, after they lost to Argentina in the semifinals, he was a substitute for the third place playoff win against France.
He is set to make his City debut wearing the number five shirt in Sunday's Community Shield against Arsenal at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
"I had a few numbers to choose from and obviously Stonesy [John Stones] 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," he said.
Anderson also insisted he is not feeling weighed down by his huge price tag, adding: "No, I'm feeling comfortable.
"I want to show everyone what I can do and try not to focus on it too much. But I'm sure over the season I can show people what I do best."
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It has been a whirlwind 12 months for Anderson since he was handed his England debut by Thomas Tuchel against Andorra in 2025 and made central to the German's World Cup plans.