Feyenoord sporting director Devy Rigaux has confirmed that Manchester City are amongst a handful of European clubs who showed interest in Givairo Read this summer.
Manchester City explored the transfer market for a new right-back this summer to offer support to Matheus Nunes.
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Read, 20, started Feyenoord’s opening UEFA Champions League game on Wednesday, where the Eredivisie side were hammered 5-1 by La Liga champions Barcelona.
That loss meant the Dutch club’s unbeaten start to the season, wherein they won three times and drawn twice in the league, came to an end.
Individually, Read has shown his high potential in the early stages of the campaign by recording an assist against SC Cambuur and playing close to maximum minutes since the beginning of the season.
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As the transfer deadline passes, here is a comprehensive round-up of every single deal completed by Hugo Viana and Manchester City across the summer of 2026.
We Needed to Send Out a Message, Says Feyenoord Director on Read Transfer Saga
Devy Rigaux left Club Brugge in June to join Feyenoord as director of football, revealing that a multitude of European clubs had shown interest in their coveted right-back Read.
“When I arrived, there were 44 players. We had to reduce the squad and the wage bill, but at the same time, we needed to send out a message," Rigaux told AS, with comments translated and relayed by Sport Witness.
"We had a substantial offer from Roma for Givairo Read. Bayern [Munich] and [Manchester] City were also interested."
Following their declared interest, City and Bayern failed to make further advances to sign the defender and instead opted to exercise their financial dominance elsewhere.
Feyenoord and Netherlands defender Givairo Read has responded to links with Manchester City and Bayern Munich ahead of the summer window.cityxtra.co.ukFeyenoord and Netherlands defender Givairo Read has responded to links with Manchester City and Bayern Munich ahead of the summer window.
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Bayern signed both Ismael Saibari and Nathaniel Brown to help bolster their attacking midfield and defence respectively, whereas City underwent huge renovations on their midfield following the departures of Rodri and Bernardo Silva.
Hugo Viana, City's sporting director, and Enzo Maresca worked tirelessly to bring Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi to the Etihad Stadium in a window that ended with City spending just over £440 million.
Rigaux: If the Team Improves, They'll Be Worth Even More
It's important to note that Read has a contract running until 2029 and is only valued at around £21 million, which could rise drastically if City or Bayern remain interested.
Nottingham Forest and AS Roma had made offers, and the initial battle was between them, but director Rigaux gave a simple yet understandable reason as to why Read wasn’t sold in the recent transfer window.
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Matheus Nunes has said he expects to continue playing at right-back under Enzo Maresca ahead of Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League group-stage opener against Porto in Portugal.
“We refused to sell them because their time here wasn’t over yet and we know that if the team improves, they’ll be worth even more,” Rigaux added.
Forest will likely falter in their bid to sign Read if they renew their interest under specific circumstances in which City or Bayern do so, due to the reputational differences between the clubs and the lure of UEFA Champions League football.