‘I want to play for the best teams in the world’: Crystal Palace star clears the way for Manchester City approach

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola gestures during the FA Cup fifth round match against Plymouth Argyle at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England on 1 March, 2025.

Manchester City have wasted no time in the transfer market this summer, following an uncharacteristically off-colour performance last season.

The powerbrokers at the Etihad Stadium moved quickly to secure the services of Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Tijjani Reijnders in a much-needed refresh of defence, midfield and attack.

They do, however, still have one problem position that Pep Guardiola will be keen to find a solution for.

Crystal Palace star offers fix for Manchester City problem

Matheus Nunes has been forced away from his natural midfield role to fill in at right-back for City (Image credit: Alamy)

City’s issues at right-back are well known, with Rico Lewis not quite stamping his name on the role and Matheus Nunes often looking an awkward stand-in.

As luck would have it, one of the Premier League’s top performers in that position last season has just gone on record with his desire to find a new challenge.

Daniel Munoz could be the answer to City's problem (Image credit: Getty Images)

Speaking to Win Sports, Crystal Palace right-back Daniel Munoz said: “I want to play for the best teams in the world, but no one has spoken to me directly.

“I dream and work every day to achieve it, and I hope it can happen as soon as possible, hopefully in his transfer window, but if not, I’m very happy at Crystal Palace.”

The Colombian’s plea will no doubt be noted by figures at City, as Antena 2 reported earlier this year that Guardiola’s side, along with Chelsea and Barcelona, had all expressed interest in the right-back.

Munoz only extended his contract with Palace in April this year, which could serve to make him prohibitively expensive, but the full-back clearly hasn’t given up hope of a big move.

Munoz was one of the Premier League's top full-backs last season (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, with Munoz openly agitating for a move, City could certainly do worse than signing the 29-year-old to fill their gap at right-back.

The new contract may complicate the financial side of the deal slightly, but this statement from Munoz will level the playing field a little, providing the Manchester club some leverage.

While reports state Munoz dreams of Real Madrid or Barcelona, City, with their recent successes, would surely hit the player’s “best teams” ambition.

Munoz is valued at €25m, according to Transfermarkt.