Thank you, Riyad Mahrez, the man with the silkiest touch in world football

Image courtesy of si.com

There is another senior Manchester City departure to add to the list in this tumultuous summer, with Riyad Mahrez's set to leave the club after 5 successful seasons.

It appears the 32 year old will see out the twilight of his career in the Saudi Pro League, joining Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruben Neves, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante as one of the biggest name players to move to the Middle East.

Mahrez has received a reported offer of £25 million a year in wages from Al-Ahli, the club whom former Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino and former UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year winner Edouard Mendy have already signed for this summer.

The figure offered to City's number 26 is simply outstanding - it'd set his family up for life, even if he were to play in Saudi Arabia for just 2 years. Add to that sponsorship deals and potential prize money, on top of an almost 10 year career in the Premier League, and he'll be one of the richest footballers on the planet in no time.

The Algerian signed from Leicester City in the summer of 2018 for a total of £60 million, which was a club record fee at the time. City initially tried to get him in the January transfer window of the previous season, but walked away from the deal after his valuation of £95 million was too steep for the Blues to consider paying.

Mahrez is unique in the fact that he's the only target City have returned to after initially being priced out, showing just how highly he was valued by Pep Guardiola and the board.

Like many players in the past it took a little while for Mahrez to adapt at City. He was often criticised for being selfish in front of goal during his first season at the club, which saw him behind Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva in the pecking order for the wide positions.

Nevertheless, he still had a few good moments in his first season, scoring an excellent goal in the 4-1 win over Brighton, to win City the league on the final day. He then started the FA Cup final over Leroy Sane a week later, but was hooked on just the 55th minute.

The 2019/20 season was poor by City's recent standards; after failing to replace departing club captain Vincent Kompany, they finished 18 points behind champions Liverpool. But, Mahrez flourished in his second season, scoring 11 goals and 14 assists in just 21 starts, with 12 appearances from the substitutes bench.

Despite competing primarily with Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden for the right wing spot, as he was at the back end of this season, Mahrez was firmly nailed on as the starter in that position, meaning it was a shock when he was benched in a change of system for City's 3-1 Champions League Quarter Final defeat to Lyon.

City, and Mahrez, started the 2020/21 season slowly, but after they gathered up steam, and new signing Ruben Dias had time to make an impact, the 32 year old was arguably City's best player on their run to the Champions League Final, scoring away to Borussia Dortmund and in both legs of the PSG semi final tie, which City won 4-1 on aggregate.

He again had to make do with a place on the bench at the start of the 2021/22 season, with Guardiola preferring a wing combination of Gabriel Jesus and new signing Jack Grealish. But, after a magnificent run of form at the turn of the new year, Mahrez was firmly cemented in City's line-up come the end of the season, finishing as the club's top goal scorer.

Mahrez will be sorely missed at City, despite him not starting any of City's biggest games last season. He was a useful option off the bench, with his ability to slow down the game, commit defenders, and help City keep the ball.

He also proved himself a much more efficient penalty taker than he has done before, sharing duties with 52 goal striker Erling Haaland. His excellent second half performance against Tottenham Hotspur in February saw City go from 2-0 down at half time to winning 4-2, with Mahrez scoring the third and fourth goals.

And, of course, who could forget his FA Cup semi final hattrick against Sheffield United, to set up an all Manchester final with local rivals United, which City won 2-1.

His game has adapted a lot since he signed, and it's all for the better. At Leicester, he was the star man, and was given freedom to roam and create for his main strike partners, Jamie Vardy and Shinji Okazaki. At City, the collective always takes priority over the individual, and Mahrez was asked to reign it in a bit, for the better of the side.

He found it difficult at first, like many others, and was often guilty of being a one trick pony at times, where cutting inside onto his left foot and shooting from the edge of the box seemed to be all he did when given the ball.

But, if you look at Mahrez's game now, he is much more team oriented, slipping in overlapping and underlapping runs and, most importantly, passing to a teammate who has a better chance of scoring, even if it is only by a slight margin.

His ability to know exactly when to take on a defender, rather than running the risk of going too direct and losing the ball, has improved monumentally, and made him the ideal Guardiola winger.

His contract expires in 2025, so there is little pressure for City to sell right now. But, Mahrez is a devout Muslim, and may jump at the opportunity to live in a Muslim country, particularly as, like Bernardo Silva, his partner has given birth recently. So, for family reasons, a move to Al-Ahli makes sense.

Given City have received a suitable offer for Mahrez, and have agreed a reported fee of €35 million with €5 million in add ons, this transfer appears, in my opinion, to be a foregone conclusion.

He has been an excellent servant to the club, and has contributed so much to City's success, particularly in the last few seasons. He deserves a big payday, to see off a career which will see him rightfully labelled as one of the best African players of all time.

But no article about Mahrez can be fully complete without a mention of his mesmerising first touch, the one that has seen him put so many defenders on the back foot instantly, before the defender has even had the chance to get into position.

So, now that he has controlled the ball for the last time in a City shirt, take a moment to appreciate the wondrous first touch of Riyad Mahrez...