Manchester City Transfer News: Monaco Chief Comments on Benjamin Mendy Move

Benjamin Mendy would have stayed at AS Monaco had he been pursued by Chelsea in the summer rather than Manchester City, according to the Ligue 1 champions' vice-president, Vadim Vasilyev.

Vasilyev revealed to L'Equipe (via The Independent) that the French left-back was desperate to link up with City manager Pep Guardiola and it was eventually decided he should be allowed to leave:

"For a while, we held off. And then, we thought—in spite of the offers that we had had for him and him indicating that he wanted to leave—could he have another season like the last one? 

"At first, I said, 'no, you're staying'. He replied: 'But Vadim, I really want to go to City and link up with Guardiola.'

"On numerous occasions he said to me: 'If it was Chelsea, I'd stay; but if it's a chance to work with Guardiola, I want to go.' 

"He'd spoken so frankly with me. So, when City met the asking price and when he became the most expensive defender in the world, there were no more arguments to have with him. We weighed up the for and against and said to him: 'OK, you can go'."

Mendy, 23, played a key role for Monaco as they won Ligue 1 last term. However, he left the club in the summer along with other key players Kylian Mbappe, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Bernardo Silva, the latter also joining City.

He has started twice in the Premier League since the start of the 2017-18 season and was excellent as City thrashed Liverpool 5-0 on Saturday, per Squawka:

Guardiola continues to be a big draw for City as they look to build a side capable of regaining the Premier League title and competing for the UEFA Champions League.

Mendy's eagerness to join City over Chelsea will be welcome news for all those at the Etihad Stadium and further proof that it was worth bringing in the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss to lead the club.