Claudio Bravo's career with Barcelona is over.
After two incredible seasons as a Blaugrana, the Chilean goalkeeper has officially joined Manchester City on a four-year deal. The Catalan giants sold Bravo to City for a reported €20 million transfer fee, doubling what they paid for Claudio back in 2014.
Barça President Josep Maria Bartomeu sent out a tweet just after the announcement, thanking Bravo for his services:
#GràciesBravo for your professionalism at Barça. You leave with titles and all of our love. Good luck!
— Josep Maria Bartomeu (@jmbartomeu) August 25, 2016
Bravo arrived from Real Sociedad two years ago under a cloud of doubts, with many Barça fans unsure about Claudio's ability to be a world-class keeper for Luis Enrique's side. He was chosen as the Blaugrana's starter in La Liga, and he became a simply incredible goal-stopper. He won the Zamora Trophy as the best Spanish league keeper in 2015, and was one of the key pieces in Barça's back-to-back domestic titles.
However, thanks to the world-class performances of Cup goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, who is younger and has more potential, Bravo was set to become a backup to the German, relinquishing his status as La Liga keeper. Claudio did not accept the backup role and asked to move. He remained professional and kept working hard until the move to City happened, and leaves the Catalan club as a fan favorite.
Bravo was a personal request from Pep Guardiola, who wanted to sign Claudio thanks to the Chilean's fantastic distribution skills. Bravo is one of the world's best passing goalkeepers, and will certainly contribute a lot to City's success as he did at Barça.
Gracias, Bravo. You've been amazing for Barça. Good luck at City!