Manchester City inks Mendy for reported record €57.5M fee

Money can't buy happiness, but in football, it can rectify a club's shortcomings.

And that's exactly what Benjamin Mendy's move to Manchester City on Monday represents for a squad that faced a dearth of full-backs at the start of the summer transfer window.

A shortage no longer, as Mendy joins Danilo and Kyle Walker among City's high-profile defensive upgrades ahead of the club's Aug. 12 Premier League opener with top-flight debutant Brighton & Hove Albion.

Good help is hard to find, and for Pep Guardiola and Co., it doesn't come cheap. The 23-year-old French international leaves Monaco and joins the Lancashire lot for a reported world-record fee of €57.5 million for a defender, eclipsing the £50-million fee City paid Tottenham for Walker's services.

Mendy, who inked a six-year contract with City, starred in his one season with Leonardo Jardim's Ligue 1 winner. One of the continent's best crossers, Mendy is a pacey, modern full-back who's as lethal in attack as he is defensively adept.

With Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy, and Bacary Sagna all bidding their Etihad digs adieu this summer, Guardiola was desperate to sign a slew of full-backs. Despite a failure to lure Dani Alves to England's top flight, the addition of Mendy, Danilo, and Walker should boost City's title hopes. And to think, the transfer window isn't yet a month old.