'Special' Mahrez joins City - eight years on

[Getty Images] On this day in 2018, Manchester City broke their transfer record and spent £60m to sign a 27-year-old Riyad Mahrez from Leicester . Mahrez, who the Foxes initially signed for just £400,000 from Le Havre in 2014, had experienced a meteoric rise and was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year during Leicester's surprise Premier League triumph in 2015-16. At the time, he said City's style of play is "perfect" for him and he wanted to be part of a club which is "redefining the English game". Pep Guardiola was fresh off his first Premier League title win in his second season in charge and Mahrez added: "Pep Guardiola is committed to playing attacking football, and City's performances last season were outstanding. "I think we can be successful over the coming years and I believe my own game can develop under Pep's management." The success that followed for both club and player was phenomenal. Despite starting just 14 league games in his opening campaign, Mahrez insisted he would "stay strong" and fight for his place and future at the club. City retained the title and won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup to secure a domestic Treble. What followed in the next four years was three more Premier League titles, two more Carabao Cups, another FA Cup and the Champions League. [Getty Images] The Algerian winger scored 78 goals and registered 59 assists across 236 appearances in all competitions for City. While often not being a guaranteed starter as Guardiola rotated his vast attacking options and favoured different players for different stages of seasons, Mahrez never dropped below 27 Premier League appearances in each of five seasons at the club and never dropped below 15 league goal involvements after his mixed debut campaign. His feathery first touch, signature silky, slaloming dribbling style and cultured left foot made him a fan favourite across his time in Manchester, during which time he also captained Algeria to Africa Cup of Nations glory for only the second time. Algeria's round of 32 exit at the 2026 World Cup marked Mahrez's retirement from international football but he continues to figure prominently for Saudi side Al-Ahli who he joined on his departure from City in 2023. He left a Treble winner with Guardiola saying: "He is one of the guys in my career who I saw who enjoyed the most. Incredible skills and technical ability. "I enjoyed as a manager to be with him. I had a special relationship with him."