LONDON — Manchester City's under-21 team walked off the pitch during a friendly against Croatian side HNK Rijeka after one of their players was racially abused, the club has claimed. “Manchester City's EDS (Elite Development Squad) U-21 game with HNK Rijeka has today been canceled due to an alleged incident of racial abuse toward the club's young midfielder, Seko Fofana by a member of the opposing team,” read a statement published on the City website late Tuesday. “Club representatives in Croatia and in Manchester are liaising with officials, the match organizers and the Croatian Football Association to pursue this matter further.” City's officials told their players to leave the pitch shortly before half-time during the game in Novigrad, west Croatia. Fofana, a 19-year-old Frenchman, had just been sent off for what City's Twitter feed described as an “off-the-ball incident.” HNK Rijeka, which was leading 1-0 when the match was abandoned, expressed surprise over City's decision to abandon the game. “Manchester City coach Patrick Vieira entered the field, discussed something with the referee, and then to the amazement of a well-filled stadium, took his team off the pitch,” youth-team coordinator Ranko Buketa told the club's website. “The reasons are known only to him.” Barcelona to sign Mathieu Valencia's French defender Jeremy Mathieu will join Barcelona for a fee of 20 million euros ($26.9 million), the Catalan club said Wednesday. “Mathieu will sign a contract with FC Barcelona for the next four seasons plus a further optional,” Barca said in a statement. “The cost of the transfer is 20 million euros and the buy-out clause will be 50 million euros ($67.32 million).” The 30-year-old Mathieu will bolster the center of Barcelona's defense after it missed out on any major trophies last season and their porous backline was a significant factor. The Frenchman, who can also play at left back, continues the restructuring of the squad under new coach Luis Enrique. Striker Luis Suarez, midfielder Ivan Rakitic and keepers Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Claudio Bravo have also been signed. Midfielder Cesc Fabregas and forward Alexis Sanchez have left for Chelsea and Arsenal respectively. United set to break transfer records Manchester United is prepared to break transfer records in order to give new manager Louis van Gaal the players he wants, according to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. The English giants have already spent over £50 million ($85 million, 63 million euros) on England left-back Luke Shaw and Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera, and Woodward says that they are ready to spend even more. Some of United's European rivals have spent big recently. Real Madrid Tuesday signed James Rodriguez from Monaco for a fee of around £63 million ($107.4m), while Barcelona paid Liverpool around £75 million ($127.8m) for Luis Suarez. — Agencies
