Manchester City allowed Manuel Akanji to complete a loan move to Inter Milan on deadline day.
The Switzerland international spent three years at the Etihad and was a regular until the end of last season. He hasn’t featured for Manchester City since their Club World Cup campaign ended in July.
Pep Guardiola has Nathan Aké, Rúben Dias, John Stones and Abdukodir Khusanov as four centre-backs, while Joško Gvardiol can also operate in that position.
Akanji has joined the national team for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo and Slovenia. This gave the Swiss media an opportunity to have a chat with the centre-back and [Blick](https://www.blick.ch/sport/fussball/nati/akanji-ueber-turbulente-tage-ich-habe-meinem-instinkt-vertraut-id21196370.html) have relayed his comments.
The 30-year-old insists an honest conversation with Guardiola convinced for him to leave Manchester City in the summer window.
_“We had six centre-backs and only two could play, plus it’s a position you rarely rotate. Pep Guardiola told us openly and honestly from the start that it wouldn’t be easy and that a few players would be out of the squad,”_ he said.
_“It wasn’t easy for me in the end because I always want to be on the pitch. But even if I had stayed at City, I would have accepted the challenge and fought for my place.”_
The former Borussia Dortmund player had to wait until the end of the window to secure a move to Inter because they needed to make room in their squad. They did so by offloading Benjamin Pavard \[moved to Marseille on loan\].
_“As always, I had packed for the national team and was coming to Switzerland when I received a call from my agent on Monday morning saying something might still happen,”_ Akanji explained.
_“The whole thing was on the verge of collapse, however, because the two clubs still had to reach an agreement, as did I with Inter. I also wanted to sort everything out with Man City. I’m obviously overjoyed that everything worked out._
_“Of course, the days leading up to it weren’t always easy, but I trusted my instincts, even though the move, like three years ago, only happened at the last minute.”_
When asked about his emotional state, the Swiss said he and his family were happy in England, but disappointed that he wasn’t able to say goodbye to Manchester City.
_“It’s difficult to realise the whole thing. First, we were still part of our old club, and now we’re moving, and there are still a few things to sort out. My family and I have felt very comfortable in Manchester, but I don’t regret anything; I’m looking forward to the new challenge,”_ he added.
_“I can hardly wait to meet my new teammates. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to say goodbye to City yet, but I definitely want to do that with a team meal, which isn’t so easy due to the schedule. But it’s important to me that I can say goodbye and start again.”_