Mateo Kovacic says he will be staying at Manchester City next season despite speculation about his future.
The Croatia midfielder, 32, has one year left on his current deal and had been linked with a move to Inter Milan, among other clubs.
But he says that he has spoken to new City head coach Enzo Maresca and is preparing for the new season at the Etihad Stadium.
“We spoke a little bit, of course,” Kovacic told the media during City’s pre-season trip to Hong Kong. “He counts on me, and then in the end it’s always on you to show your best, to be in your best shape.
“For me, it was important to hear that the club counts on me, that he counts me, and now it’s on me to show my best. I didn’t feel any question marks from them.”
Kovacic missed the majority of last season after undergoing Achilles surgery twice, once in June 2025 and then again in November, and believes that the increasingly physical nature of the Premier League contributed to his injury.
“When you come to the national team and play at the World Cup, you see the pace is much slower, not so physical, that every duel you have to give it everything. I think I was injured because (after) a long time in the Premier League, it’s not easy to play every game 100 per cent. It’s definitely the toughest league, every game is suffering,” he said.
“Maybe also because of years of playing and training at the highest level, it can happen that the body at one point says, ‘I can’t take it anymore’. And maybe the rest did me good as well, to just be a little bit away from football, to reset my body and that I can start again.”
City will play two more fixtures on their pre-season tour of Asia this summer, first against K-League All Stars on Wednesday and then Atletico Madrid on Sunday in Seoul, the South Korean capital.
They then face Arsenal in the Community Shield on August 16, before kicking off the Premier League season at home to Bournemouth a week later.
‘Kovacic well-suited to Maresca’s style’
Kovacic could be a handy option in the midfield for Maresca next season, especially with uncertainty around Rodri, Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders.
He seems well-suited to Maresca’s style and especially the current demands of the Premier League, with his ball-carrying and press resistance.
The likelihood is that he would not be a regular starter next season but could still make important contributions across the different competitions that City will be competing for.
With his contract expiring next summer, it would be no surprise if this were to be his last season at the club. After missing almost a year of football with his Achilles injury, he is pain-free and looking to make a big contribution.
