Manchester City: Nolito signs four-year deal to reunite with former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola

Manchester City have confirmed the long-rumoured signing of Nolito from Celta Vigo. The Spain international pens a four-year deal to reunite with Pep Guardiola, the manager who handed the forward his first-team debut at Barcelona during their time together in La Liga.

The 29-year-old is the third signing of the Guardiola era at the Etihad Stadium, with the club previously confirming deals for Borussia Dortmund star Ilkay Gundogan and Australia international midfielder Aaron Mooy from sister club Melbourne City.

Nolito began his career at Ecija Balompie before Barcelona recruited him for their B-team. Guardiola gave the player a senior debut in the 2010-11 season, but with the likes of Pedro and Lionel Messi blocking his breakthrough as a permanent first-teamer, he opted to switch to Portuguese outfit Benfica.

Nolito then spent six months on loan at Granada before moving to Celta on a permanent basis. The Spaniard became a breakthrough star at the Galician outfit, impressing in successive campaigns.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique tried to re-sign the player in January, having managed him both with the Catalans' B-team and at Celta. However, the deal was unable to progress due to financial issues and he stayed at Celta until the season's end, scoring 12 goals and earning a spot in Spain's starting XI in the European Championship.

Nolito had previously claimed he was after a return to return to Barcelona, and reports in Spain suggested the club were ready to renew their attempts to sign him in the current transfer window.

But amid reports Barcelona had different plans, Nolito has instead opted for a Etihad Stadium switch following his participation in Euro 2016.

No transfer fee was disclosed but it is understood Manchester City met the €18m (£15m) release fee in full, as Celta's president previously said they would not negotiate any departure.

Nolito, who will wear the number 9 shirt, had expressed his delight at reuniting with Guardiola.

"I'll try to bring as much as I possibly can," Nolito said. "I'll do everything that the manager asks of me, try my absolute best and do everything I can to try to repeat the form I've shown throughout my career at various clubs. It's just about trying to play my normal game and let's hope that I can help Manchester City to win games.

"I think that Pep Guardiola is one of the best managers in the world. He knows a lot about the game and he's going to help me progress as a player and I'm sure he'll get the best out of me."