Reijnders' role at Manchester City seemed to be played out, as the club signed three midfielders - Elliott Anderson, Ayyoub Bouaddi, and Enzo Fernández - for over 100 million euros. To finance these deals, Manchester City parted ways with Reijnders, who had been in talks with Atlético Madrid but failed to agree on a transfer fee. Al-Qadsiah, however, was willing to pay the asking price of around 60 million euros to bring the Dutch international to the Middle East.
Reijnders himself acknowledged that the financial offer was a major factor in his decision to leave Manchester City. "Were they the only club willing to pay a fee that Manchester City was happy with? Yes, that was indeed the case," he said in an interview with the NOS. The former AZ player has since been called up by Dutch national team coach Xavi for upcoming international matches.