I considered leaving Manchester City but I am not finished yet I will fight for my place
Stefan Ortega seriously considered leaving Manchester City this summer, but signed a new two-year deal instead. He tells the Manchester Evening News why he decided to stay at the Etihad.
PIRAEUS, GREECE – AUGUST 16: Stefan Ortega Moreno (L) of Manchester City poses with Ederson Santana de Moraes (C) and Scott Carson and the Super Cup Trophy at the winners shoot after winning the UEFA Super Cup 2023 match between Manchester City FC and Sevilla FC at Karaiskakis Stadium on August 16, 2023 in Piraeus, Greece. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
As Ederson decides whether to stay at Manchester City this summer or leave for Saudi Arabia, maybe he needs to speak to speak to Scott Carson for some advice.
That is what Stefan Ortega did – eventually opting to remain at City rather than leave for a new challenge. Ortega dropped a bombshell towards end of of last season that he wanted to be number one and may have to find a new club to achieve that, leaving his future in doubt.
But at the start of the summer, he penned a new contract until 2026 to end any concern, even if Sporting Director Txiki Begiristain and manager Pep Guardiola have made it clear that Ederson remains first choice. Begiristain even described Ortega as the best number two the club has ever had. High praise – or a back-handed compliment?
Ortega sees it as a positive, but vows to do everything he can to unseat Ederson and play as much as possible in the next two years of his new deal.
“Of course it’s nice when important people speak nice about you,” he tells MEN Sport. “Personally I just try to be the number one. That’s it, no more than that.
“The situation right now is the same as the season before. I try to catch Eddy, but support him as well and everyone in the team. Obviously everyone wants to play and go higher and higher. This is what I try to do every day. At the end it’s always the decision of the manager. I just try to improve and bring him to a difficult situation.”
So if he still has eyes on the number one jersey, why did he opt to stay when it was clear he will remain back-up? What changed?
There’s a pause as Ortega answers the question, as he thinks of the right words. “First of all there is my family,” he begins. His wife is expecting their second child in the next few weeks.
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“You don’t want to move again, to bring your family into a situation where you have to adapt again. We obviously feel really happy here in Manchester.
“And then like Scott told me – the grass isn’t always greener in other places. I think that’s true. Obviously I played a lot of games in the last two years, I think I’m not finished here.
“There’s a lot more to do for me. You’re here in one of the best three clubs in the world right now. It’s not easy to leave.”
So City might have third-choice stopper Carson to thank for Ortega’s new deal. That last comment – ‘it’s not easy to leave’ – comes a beat or two after the rest of the answer. The temptation was there, of course, but Ortega realises he would be stepping down from City even if he was becoming a number one somewhere else.
Ortega played 20 times last season, 16 from the start. He came off the bench four times to replace Ederson, and made a title-winning save at Tottenham to deny Heung-min Son one-on-one. But he doesn’t want praise for that particular moment. It’s just part of the job.
“This is what I do every day,” he sighs, seemingly already fed up of talking about it. “It’s not a surprise for me to save the ball. The only thing is the surroundings on this night, where it’s just massive. That’s why the save is that big. But for me this is what I do every day.”
What about the FA Cup final then, when both Ortega and Josko Gvardiol went for the same ball. It meant Gvardiol headed over his goalkeeper and allowed Alejandro Garnacho an open goal finish. Gvardiol, to his credit, took responsibility for the error, but Ortega also accepts responsibility.
“First of all, it’s hard if an opponent just plays long balls, long balls, long balls. And we always have a high line,” he says in reference to Manchester United’s direct tactics at Wembley. “If you have to defend 20 balls and it happens once, one ball is dangerous. In this case, I shouted to Josko, maybe not too loud, so he didn’t hear me. It just happens in football, no more than that.”
That is the life of a goalkeeper. Errors are magnified and big saves are expected. Ortega just wants to take things day by day and not look too far ahead or dwell on the past.
At the moment the German is preparing to be number two this season, but everything can change if Ederson decides to leave. As evidenced by coming off the bench in those four games, he insists he is always ready and prepares like he is number one every day – so if he earns a promotion later this month then it will not faze him one bit.
“Nobody expected last season I’d play so many games,” he said. “You do it the week before in training sessions, you’re preparing like you would play. Even on a gameday, you do the same as if you know you’re starting.
“It’s not like I’m sleeping on the bench. I try to watch the game, maybe pick some players, try to see what they’re trying to do just incase I’m coming on. This is what I do.”
He will be ready and confident to step up if asked this season, hoping to prove he is so much more than a very good back-up. And if he produces another ‘Spurs’ moment this year – City can offer a word of thanks to Carson for his wise advice to Ortega over the summer.
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