Man City ace Matheus Nunes 'arrested on suspicion of mobile phone theft'

Manchester City midfielder Matheus Nunes was arrested and taken into custody after being accused of stealing a mobile phone, according to reports.

The alleged incident took place in Madrid’s La Riviera nightclub last month. A man is said to have taken a picture of Nunes without his permission in the venue’s bathrooms at approximately 5.30am on the morning of September 8.

Nunes is accused of responding by snatching the 58-year-old’s phone and refusing to give it back. City’s Portuguese playmaker was subsequently found to have someone else’s phone in his possession after national police were called to the scene, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

He was handcuffed and taken to Arganzuela police station before calling his lawyer and being released on bail hours later. The same report states that a trial for Nunes is ‘pending’.

The 26-year-old’s trip to Madrid occurred during the international break, having been left out of the Portugal squad by manager Roberto Martinez. He was back in action less than a week after the alleged theft is said to have taken place, making a second-half substitute appearance against Brentford on September 14.

Nunes has also featured in a Carabao Cup win over Watford and a Champions League thrashing of Slovan Bratislava in the three-and-a-half weeks since his return to the UK.

The midfielder has been unable to establish himself as anything more than a bit-part player since completing a £53million move from Wolves last year. He has scored once in 34 matches since, adding Premier League and FIFA Club World Cup titles to his CV in 2023/24.

Pep Guardiola was quoted as saying that Nunes is one of the best players in the world after coming up against him when he played for Sporting Lisbon. The City boss then raised eyebrows by backtracking on those comments only weeks after signing him.

“Maybe I overexaggerated a little bit,” he said. “He’s not [that]. He is a really good player but sometimes, maybe I said this comment after 1-5 [against Sporting], it was 5-0? But he’s an exceptional player.”

Nunes could be called upon to start with more regularity this campaign following a season-ending injury to fellow City midfielder Rodri. The Blues continue their Premier League title defence at home to Fulham on Saturday.