Reijnders appreciates Man City pressure to deliver silverware

Tijjani Reijnders knows the pressure to deliver titles for Manchester City will be on after completing his move from AC Milan.

The Netherlands international signed a five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium after City agreed a transfer reportedly worth an initial fee of £46.5m.

Reijnders will be available for the Club World Cup, in which Pep Guardiola's side open their campaign against Wydad Casablanca on Wednesday, before turning his attention to the Premier League.

The 26-year-old is under no illusions of the demands he is facing at his new club, acknowledging the importance of helping Guardiola's team to silverware.

"City is one of the biggest clubs in the world, and if you play for a club like this, then you have to win prizes," Reijnders said.

"It was almost a no-brainer when City came. An easy choice in the end. It's important to play European football, and playing for City is a dream."

The pressure will be ramped up an additional notch given City ended last season without any silverware after finishing third in the Premier League and losing the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace.

That was the first time that Guardiola's side had failed to win a major trophy since 2017, and they have acted swiftly by also signing Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki and backup goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli.

Reijnders heads into the Club World Cup tournament after a fine 2024-25 campaign with Milan, having made the most appearances across all competitions for the Serie A club (52).

Only Christian Pulisic (17) scored more goals than Reijnders' 15 from midfield, while no player attempted more than his 109 shots, suggesting Guardiola's new signing will be keen to find the net.

"That is what I did last season with Milan, being more on the scoresheet," Reijnders said, hoping to add more goals with the Premier League giants.

"It's very important to score goals as a midfielder, and it's what I'm looking for, that and assists.

"The first season at Milan, I wasn't calm in my head when I had opportunities, and it was something I was thinking about in the summer after.

"I watched clips of myself when I got into those situations and tried to adapt to those kinds of things in the second season, to be calmer in front of goal."