Manchester City have finalized the transfer of 33-year old Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo from FC Barcelona, in a four-year deal reported to be £15.4m. The La Liga champions said the fee could rise due to £1.7m in add-ons.

Bravo, bringing with him two trophy-laden years at Barcelona, is slated to start ahead of England goalkeeper Joe Hart and Argentina international Willy Caballero. Barca have signed Dutch keeper Jasper Cilessen from Ajax as his replacement.

"It is not easy to leave a club like Barcelona where I had two fantastic years, but the opportunity to work with Pep Guardiola was too good to refuse," said Bravo when asked about his decision to leave the club where he won two La Liga titles and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Pep Guardiola, who led Barcelona to the top of the football world with five-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi at his prime, expressed his delight in signing Bravo for Manchester City. His decision raised speculations about Hart's place in the City squad, given his doubts on the keeper's ability to take on a "sweeper-keeper" role, as per BBC's report.

The likes of Germany international and Bayern Munich keeper Manuel Neuer and Bravo have been known for excelling in playing the ball at their feet - something Guardiola truly prefers for his squad. The gaffer's decision to drop Hart in City's first three Premier League games this season certainly didn't help diffuse rumors of a high-profile exit.

"Claudio is a fantastic goalkeeper and an excellent addition to our squad...He has experience and great leadership qualities and is in the prime of his life. He is a goalkeeper I have admired for a number of years and I'm really happy he is now a City player," said Guardiola of the new City keeper."

Bravo, for his part, is very nondescript in his response to rumors that he'll effectively replace Hart, a City fan favorite.

"I am going to have really tough competition as well because the club already has top goalkeepers, and my mission is to improve day by day and work as hard as I can in terms of football and on a personal level as well," said Bravo to Manchester Evening News.