A former Premier League striker desperately wanted to play for Arsenal – but ended up signing for Manchester City after Arsene Wenger baulked at his wage demands.
In 2014, England’s top-flight was full of elite strikers like Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane and Diego Costa. But it was a surprise name that finished as the top goalscorer for the calendar year.
Swansea City’s Wilfred Bony bagged 20 goals in those 12 months following prolific spells at Sparta Prague and Dutch side Vitesse. In all, he had scored 34 in 70 appearances across all competitions for the Welsh team and was doing the business for the Ivory Coast too.
His form had unsurprisingly attracted the attention of several rival clubs and come January 2015, he had his heart set on playing for the legendary Wenger at the Emirates – there was just one issue.
‘There were three clubs interested in signing me after my first season at Swansea: Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City,’ Bony told Ladbrokes.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
‘It pleased me that it was clubs like City and Arsenal who wanted to sign me because of the way they played. City’s way of playing was very similar to Swansea’s, so I knew that the intensity and everything would be fine. I was happy about that.
‘I knew that Swansea wanted to sell me because I started being put on the bench. When the time came to move, I was thinking about the African Cup and preparing myself for that. So when the opportunity to move came, I wanted it sorted quickly so that I was mentally ready for the tournament.
‘City made their offer at the last minute – I wanted to join Arsenal. But at that time, the money City put on the table was something that nobody could match, especially in terms of salary.
‘When Arsene Wenger heard about the salary, he said, “That’s too big for us! That’s too big for us!”.
‘I wanted to join Arsenal, so I met him again in Swansea when we were playing against them. I spoke to him in the Marriott hotel, and again Wenger said that the salary would be too much for them.’
It is believed that City paid Bony £100,000-a-week and he moved to Manchester in a transfer worth £25million, with £3m in add-ons. This, at the time, made the striker the most expensive African footballer ever.
But the move did not work out for all involved: ‘I signed for the club while I was in Abu Dhabi, where the Ivory Coast were based in preparation for the AFCON,’ the now 37-year-old added.
‘I only regret one thing: When I returned from the AFCON, I was tired. I was tired because of the heat, because of the intensity, because of everything. I was cooked. It was difficult for me to match the level where I wanted to be, what I had to be to stand out.
‘We had a party to celebrate winning the Africa Cup, but within a week I needed to play against Newcastle and then Barcelona. So everything was bam, bam, bam, and the heat added to it, which was up to 42°C. Then to go to Manchester and England, which was below 10°C at that time, does affect you.
‘In 18 months, I was fit for just three months because I kept getting injured. And it’s difficult at clubs like City, who can buy any player they want rather than wait for you to get fit. So if they put a price on you and you’ve not performed, it’s difficult for you to stay there.’
In addition to fitness problems, Bony also had to play second-fiddle to Aguero and ended up scoring just 10 goals in 46 appearances for the Citizens, though he did win the League Cup.
Come the summer of 2016, Bony was loaned out to Stoke City before eventually returning to Swansea, but he never rediscovered his shooting boots. After brief stints in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands and Bolivia, he called time on his career in 2023.
While it seemed from the outside that City were keen to offload Bony, he claims he was never forced out of the Etihad: ‘We all knew Pep Guardiola was joining as manager several months before he arrived, but I didn’t speak to him until the first day of pre-season.
‘We had good conversations. He liked me in training, which was enjoyable. He actually said to me that if I wanted to, I could stay. He wouldn’t guarantee that I was going to play often, but he said that the most important thing was that I was ready to play every game.
‘We talked, so there was a friend mentality despite our different way of seeing things. There was no confrontation about anything. But after we spoke, in my head I was thinking that I needed to play. That’s what I love about football: playing.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.