Mahrez insists he has joined Man City to fight for the big trophies

Riyad Mahrez revealed Manchester City are ready to lift the Champions League after securing his protracted £60million move this week.

The Algerian, who insisted he is relishing the fight for a first-team berth under Pep Guardiola, believes City can go all the way in Europe.

City were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Liverpool last season and Mahrez said: ‘They have everything to try and win it. It’s a goal. Now we have to work and see what can happen.

Mahrez admits he has joined City to win the big trophies and has eyes set on European trophy

‘I know they have an ambition to go further. It’s a Champions League team, who want to win trophies every season. I want to be part of this.

‘It’s a club that wants to win this type of trophy, the Champions League is for big clubs and City is a big club.’

Mahrez – who is happy playing anywhere across the attacking areas – has serious competition from Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva.

The club record fee does not faze the 27-year-old and Guardiola proved a determining factor in his decision to leave Leicester City.

Mahrez is ready to embrace the competition for places and isn’t fazed by club record fee

Mahrez believes he has what it takes to help the Man City team continue improving

‘Every big club there are big players,’ he added. ‘Competition is part of football. Everyone can improve and you can improve the squad.

‘He’s a big manager, has won a lot of things and written a story in this club as well. I wanted to work under him and play for this club.

‘They broke all the records in the Premier League which is unbelievable and I never wavered. I’m very confident in myself and hope to help this team improve.

‘If I moved sooner then maybe I wouldn’t have been happy. I don’t want to talk about the past too much.’

Mahrez also heaped praise on England after they were knocked out of the World Cup by Croatia on Wednesday night. He has been in contact with former team-mates Harry Maguire and Jamie Vardy over the last month.

‘Everyone has been watching. England have been very good, they were unlucky last night, but have a lot of credit for what they’ve achieved,’ he said. ‘It’s very difficult. They could’ve won the game yesterday.’ 

The Algerian took part in first-team training as he looks ahead to the new season

Mahrez got back into the swing of things with City after the £60m move from Leicester