There is no doubt that the acquisition of Maicon on transfer deadline day impressed a lot of supporters, with the Brazilian joining from Inter Milan for just £3m.

However, his agent claims that City weren’t the only ones chasing his client’s signature, stating that the likes of Real Madrid, PSG and Chelsea had all shown an interest in the player.

Maicon was one of several players to arrive at Stamford Bridge at the end of the transfer window and despite the defender’s advancing years, he was undoubtedly Roberto Mancini’s highest profile signing. The 31-year-old has been one of Inter Milan’s star performers over recent years, as well as being a regular for Brazil. Admittedly, he did recently lose his place in the San Siro outfit’s starting eleven, but City’s purchase was regarded as a shrewd piece of business as Mancini bids to add competition to the club’s back line.

Considering the pedigree of the player, few people will be surprised to see that Mancini wasn’t the only manager after him. In fact, City were in competition with several of the other big clubs in Europe, as disclosed by his agent Roberto Calenda. Calenda told Sky Sport Italia, “He chose Manchester City after rather a long evaluation process. All the top clubs who needed someone in that role came looking for Maicon, from Real Madrid via Jose Mourinho to PSG, Chelsea and others. Maicon made his decision when Roberto Mancini called, as he had started his Inter adventure with this coach seven years ago.”

Even though the new signing was handed the No.3 shirt by Mancini, he is by no means guaranteed a starting place at the Etihad Stadium. Instead, he is going to have to compete with Pablo Zabaleta, who has made the right back position his own over recent times.