New Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho has admitted that he had to convince his old club Shakhtar Donetsk to let him leave.
The Brazilian international moved to the Etihad Stadium for a fee in the region of £34m, but he reveals that the talks were tough work.
Fernandinho told Globo. "I'm relieved. It was a big battle. The negotiations were intense, took several days and I even abandoned my vacation.
"When the first offer came in, they said no. I insisted a lot in order to convince the manager, the board and even the captain. I had meetings with the president who promised he would talk with Man City if an offer of 40 million Euros came, which finally happened.
"The truth is that I wanted to leave Shakhtar after eight years there. I told them this. As I was loved there, respected by the fans and within the club, they gave up."
The 28-year-old made 31 appearances for the Ukrainian side in all competitions last season.
Simon Sinclair
