While the outside world had focused Manchester City's transfer targets on superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Agüero, nobody had expected Manchester City to suddenly announce a blockbuster transfer without making a fuss.
Manchester City officially announced that they had signed midfielder Javi Martinez from La Liga side Athletic Bilbao for the hefty fee of £25 million. Athletic Bilbao soon issued a statement confirming the deal.
The news immediately drew intense attention from media around the world.
Javi Martinez?
Was Javi Martinez really not worth that much?
Actually, that wasn't the case at all.
Although Javi Martinez was only twenty-two, he had already been a first-team regular for the Basque Lions for five full seasons. He had continued to improve, and had even been included in Spain's squad for the 2010 World Cup, making him the youngest player in the Spanish national team at the time.
In the season that had just ended, Javi Martinez had also been Athletic Bilbao's best-performing midfielder. His outstanding performances had attracted the attention of La Liga giants such as Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Manchester United had also been suffering from a lack of a defensive midfielder. After spending heavily to bring in Hargreaves from Bayern, they had been unable to escape his injury problems, and he had never shown a satisfactory level of form. Ferguson had therefore been monitoring Javi Martinez for a long time as well.
It could be said that Javi Martinez had attracted the attention of countless giants.
Who could have imagined that such a highly coveted player would be quietly plucked away by Manchester City?
Once the news broke, the entire European football world was shaken.
There was actually no need to say much about the strength of Manchester City's midfield. The two crushing victories from the previous season were proof