New Manchester City signing Omar Marmoush on signing four and half year contract

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New Manchester City signing Omar Marmoush on signing four and half year contract  22/01/2025  CFGA Studios, Manchester, UK

Transcript

00:00Omar, many congratulations and welcome to Manchester City. Can you sum up how

00:05excited you are to join this football club? First of all, thank you so much for

00:10having me. It's a pleasure being here. I'm really excited. I can't wait to get on

00:16the pitch, meet the teammates and start my journey with the club. You've made a

00:21terrific impact on the pitch over the last couple of seasons in particular.

00:25That's meant that you've been watched and linked to many different clubs. What

00:29was it about City that made you make the move to this football club? City is

00:34one of the biggest clubs in the world over the past 10 years. Of course, it's an

00:40honour that they showed the interest in me and that now I'm here. The last two

00:45years, my last two seasons, were great but it's just the beginning for me. I'm

00:51so happy to be here and for me City is one of the biggest clubs in the world so

00:57it was not a question. For some of our fans who maybe haven't seen you play

01:02that often, can you just describe your style and what you think your main

01:06strengths on the football pitch are? My main strength, I would say, is that I always

01:12want to win. That's from a character point of view. On the pitch, I'm fast, good

01:19on the ball. I try to see where the spaces are and try to exploit the spaces

01:24and I'm dangerous. From what we've seen, you can play a number of different

01:29positions on the pitch, which I'm sure was very attractive to Tchiki and Pep.

01:33Just explain to us what position you feel most comfortable in. I've played

01:38many positions in the national team. I'm always playing on the left wing most of

01:42the time. In my former club, I was playing number nine and sometimes the ten. I also

01:49played on the eight, so right wing. I think I can play all

01:53positions. I feel most comfortable under a striker, so in the ten position where I

02:01can just turn and the way to the goal is quicker, or shorter I mean. But again, I

02:08feel comfortable in all positions and wherever I play, I will always try to

02:12give my all to help the team. You've spent a good few hours here at the City

02:17Football Academy and we've got some amazing facilities. What's your

02:21impression, having spent the day here today? Yeah, the facilities are amazing. I

02:26didn't get to see a lot. I think I just finished the medical. I saw the staff

02:33until now are really, really nice people and yeah, the facility is really, really

02:39good. It's just how it should be for one of the best clubs in the world.

02:45This must be a very special moment, not just for you, but for your family as well.

02:50I mean, what's their reaction been to your move to City? Yeah, it's crazy to be

02:55honest. The whole journey I made coming from Egypt to Germany, I always dreamt of

03:01being in a club like this and after all the hard work, all the setbacks I had,

03:07it's a pleasure and it's an honour for me and my family to be representing Man City

03:13and to be here. It makes them happy. It makes me happy that my dreams are

03:21becoming a reality. Pep Guardiola is acknowledged as a world-class manager.

03:27He's also acknowledged as being a coach who improves footballers. For you, when

03:33you were thinking about coming here, you had the opportunity to come here, that

03:37must be a thrilling prospect for a player to know that you're going to work

03:40Of course. This was one of the big aspects also. Pep is a coach that

03:47develops players, like you said, and I always find that each player always can

03:54become better. There are some percents where you can become better and I want

03:59to learn from him, take all his knowledge, because he's one of the best

04:05coaches in history, I would say. So it's an honour that he showed interest in me

04:10and got me in this team and I can't wait to prove my qualities on the pitch.

04:16We also have one of the great number nines in world football in Erling Haaland.

04:20You're a very different player in style to him, but you're likely to play

04:24alongside him. I mean, you must be really excited about that prospect as well.

04:28Very, very excited. I mean, Erling is a machine, a goal machine. I'm very excited

04:35to see him, to play with him on the pitch, to learn from him also, some things and

04:40hopefully to assist him, like you said, and hopefully we will enjoy playing together.

04:47The Premier League is kind of widely recognised as being probably the

04:52strongest and most competitive league probably in the world. What does it mean

04:58to you to be able to come into this league and experience that?

05:02Because it's kind of like the ultimate test for a footballer, isn't it?

05:05Yeah, of course. And since I was young, it was my dream to play in the Premier League.

05:10I find that the league is very intense and it fits the style of play that I have.

05:17And I'm just really, really happy to be here in this league.

05:22As you said, it's just another test for me and it's just the beginning.

05:27Now my journey starts with City and hopefully we'll win a lot of trophies

05:31and have really, really nice seasons.

05:36There's been quite a few players in the past who have come from the Bundesliga

05:39to the Premier League and done very, very well.

05:41It seems it's a good testing ground for players to come to England.

05:47How quickly do you think you're going to adapt and what challenges

05:50do you think you're going to face maybe in English football?

05:53I think that's something we're going to see with time.

05:56As you said, the Bundesliga is very similar to the Premier League from the intensity.

06:00Of course, the Premier League is a much higher intensity,

06:03but the style of play, I would say, is similar.

06:07So players coming from the German league here have it easier to adapt

06:12to the style of play and the intensity.

06:15I just want to get to know my teammates, get into the team

06:18and know what the coach wants from each and every player

06:22and just try to function within the team.

06:25You're the first Egyptian ever to play for Manchester City Football Club.

06:31I want to ask you how proud you are to be the first to play

06:35for this great football club from your nation.

06:37Yeah, it's a big, big honour.

06:40I'm really, really happy to be the first player to play for Man City.

06:45Yeah, showing what my country has, representing my country here

06:50in a club like this was something I always dreamt of.

06:54My dreams are becoming a reality of being the first player in Man City

06:59and I hope I will prove that I can keep up with this level.

07:05Can I ask you as well about back in Egypt,

07:08how much interest is there in the Premier League?

07:10I'm sure there's great excitement, but you've made this move.

07:13Do you feel that?

07:15Yeah, I feel that a lot.

07:17I mean, the past few days were a bit stressful, a lot of talk.

07:22The Premier League for us in Egypt is the biggest league

07:26and it's the most followed league, of course,

07:28because of other teammates I have in the league, Mo Salah,

07:34and a lot of other Egyptian players I've played in the Premier League.

07:37So most of the players growing up, our dream is to be here.

07:41And that's why it makes me so happy that I'm here to reach this beautiful league.

07:48Well, Omar, thank you so much, good luck on your time here.

07:52We've got some big games coming up and we're all excited to see how well you do.

07:56I can't wait, thank you.

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