Tijjani Reijnders Completes €61 Million Move to Al-Qadsiah
Tijjani Reijnders’ brief Manchester City chapter is over. The Dutch midfielder has completed a big-money move to Al-Qadsiah, in a deal that underlines just how ruthless and lucrative the modern transfer market can be.
The Saudi club have paid a reported €61 million to prise him away from the Etihad, and handed him a five-year contract that could earn him more than €100m over its duration. Al-Qadsiah rolled out the move with a slick presentation video on X, where Reijnders introduced himself with a line that will quickly become a terrace chant: “I’m a Dutch artist; I’m a Qadsiah man.”
He leaves England with 50 appearances for City across all competitions and two domestic cups to his name. A short stay, but not an empty one.
Milan’s masterstroke
City can argue they’ve done well. They signed Reijnders for €55m a year ago and have now sold him for €61m. On paper, that’s a tidy profit for a player who never became a guaranteed starter under Pep Guardiola.
But the real winners sit in Milan.
When Milan sold Reijnders to City last summer, they built in up to €14m in performance-related add-ons. That part is standard. The clever bit was the clause behind it. Anticipating that City might not keep him long, Milan inserted an agreement that if he was sold within the first year, Manchester City would have to pay the full €14m package in one go — regardless of whether he hit the sporting milestones attached to it, including targets like Champions League glory or even the Ballon d’Or.
City wanted the deal with Al-Qadsiah wrapped up quickly. That urgency has a price. By pushing the transfer through inside that 12-month window, they triggered the entire add-on bill and are now legally obliged to send the extra millions to San Siro.
That final payment lifts the total Milan receive for Reijnders to almost €70m. For a player they reportedly bought from AZ Alkmaar for around €13m in the summer of 2023, it represents a staggering profit of about €56m. One year, one sale, one of the sharpest pieces of business in recent Serie A memory.
New stage, new spotlight
Reijnders now steps into a very different football landscape. At Al-Qadsiah, he will join up with fellow recruit Mateo Retegui under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, as the club gears up for its first appearance in the AFC Champions League Elite.
The project is ambitious, the expectations clear. Al-Qadsiah are not spending this kind of money to blend into the background of the Saudi Pro League.
Reijnders might not have to wait long to start justifying the outlay. He could make his debut as early as Friday, when Al-Qadsiah face Al-Ittihad in the second round of the league season. A year ago he was a fresh face at Manchester City. Now he walks into a new dressing room as the €61m centrepiece of a club intent on making noise far beyond Saudi Arabia.
