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Bravo opens up about decision to leave Barcelona

Cape Town - Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has revealed that he decided to join Manchester City after he was told that he would play second fiddle to Marc-Andre ter Stegen at Barcelona.

Having traded Camp Nou for the Etihad Stadium, Bravo struggled during City’s 2-1 win over arch-rivals Manchester United.

Things have settled down since, though, as he kept back-to-back clean sheets in his side’s 4-0 wins over VfL Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League last week and against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

"It was not me that was [first] at Barca, it was Ter Stegen," he told SER. "The club made me an offer to renew but, seeing their plans, I also made them understand my position.

"I was very sincere, I did not want to sit on the bench. It's not my thing. And they understood. In Barcelona I always devoted myself to doing my best, I always felt the support."

Bravo also made it clear that he has a good relationship with Ter Stegen despite speculation that the pair did not see eye-to-eye since they were competing for a place in the starting line-up.

"What appeared in the press - that we had a bad relationship and things were uncomfortable at the end - was not true," he said. "It was never a problem, indeed, we both always benefited from the competition."

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