Social media rode roughshod over traditional football transfer etiquette as Wilfried Bony completed his $42.5 million move to Manchester City from Swansea.
Hours after pictures of Bony holding aloft a City shirt emerged on Twitter, the English Premier League champions have finally confirmed the signing of the Ivorian striker.
Bony, who scored more EPL goals than any other player in 2014, is currently with the Ivory Coast national team preparing for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, which begins in Equatorial Guinea on Saturday.
And it was the Ivory Coast Football Federation which prematurely broke news of the transfer by posting the picture on Twitter, sparking a spiky response from Bony’s former employers Swansea.
The Welsh club insisted the deal had not been completed, but now its EPL rivals City have announced the capture of the 26-year-old on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
“It’s a great feeling for me, it’s a big honor to be here and it’s a great challenge,” Bony told City’s official website.
“As a player it’s always good to be part of one of the biggest clubs in the world and it’s a good opportunity for me to be in that situation now — I’m really proud.
“I felt excited to wait for this moment and now it’s come, it’s fantastic.”