“My father called me, it was a crazy moment!” – Manchester City star narrates tale of emergency January transfer | OneFootball

Omar Marmoush has revealed how his move to Manchester City unfolded and described the achievement of playing for one of the best clubs in the world as a dream. 

The Egyptian joined Pep Guardiola’s side from Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt in January for £59 million after fending off interest from Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite not featuring regularly for the Blues in recent months, Marmoush was pivotal to Manchester City’s strong finish to a challenging 2024-25 campaign

Last season, the 26-year-old scored eight goals and provided three assists in 25 appearances in all competitions and made a name for himself in the Premier League after building an irrepressible reputation in Germany.

During his time in Germany, Marmoush emerged as another superstar forward from Egypt – alongside Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah – was involved in more goals than anyone in the Bundesliga – not even Bayern Munich’s striker Harry Kane had more involvements in the period.

In a recent appearance on the official Manchester City podcast, Marmoush reflected on his journey to the Etihad Stadium and discussed the exhilaration that comes with putting on the Manchester City blue.

“My dream was always to play for one of the best clubs in the world, so this didn’t come as a surprise to me (when I joined City),” the 26-year-old said.

“When I was little, I always dreamed of reaching this goal and being with the best coach in the world (Pep Guardiola). You always imagine it but when it actually happens, it’s like something else entirely.

“You can spend 16, 17, 20 years – or in my case, 26 – working through the 15 years I played football (as a youngster) and the next 10 years I played professionally to reach something like this. So, it’s like a reward for everything I’ve worked hard for.”

Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t any hesitation from Marmoush’s representatives when it came to moving to England – given the stature of the club on the other side of the phone and their achievements since the Abu Dhabi United Group takeover in 2008, led by Sheikh Mansour.

Whether it was the allure of winning four Premier League titles in a row for the first time ever or the prestige of completing a historic treble in 2023, the pull towards City was without a doubt for Marmoush.

“My father called me and told me ‘City are interested’ and I said ‘I’m ready, let’s go, what’s stopping us?’,” he added. “It was a crazy moment for me, just hearing City wanted me at that time. Also, I’ve been putting in the work for so many years.

“It was very surprising in the first moment, ‘Okay, City want me,’ but at the same time, I knew something was coming after these consistent performances. The year before (with Frankfurt) and the development the year after was incredible – and it was unbelievable.”

The versatile Marmoush, who possesses an abundance of talent across the attacking line, is currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations, where Egypt are vying to lift an eighth edition of the trophy in Morocco, who are hosting for the first time in 37 years.