Manchester City have been one of the most locally dominant and financially difficult teams in English football history since Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi Investment Group bought the club in 2008.
Last season, City were the first team to be crowned champions of England for the fourth consecutive season, following their treble in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup a year earlier.
City’s good fortune under their Abu Dhabi owners is only the result of huge spending on the most sensible players, with innovations in the club’s infrastructure, investment in a world-class academy and the brilliance of Pep GuardiolaArray all factors that contribute enormously. But they also spent a lot of money signing the most sensible players.
Here are the 8 times City have damaged their club move record since the 2008 takeover. . .
The acquisition of City through the Abu Dhabi organisation was formalised on 1 September 2008, the deadline for the move.
In a rush to spend some of their newfound wealth, City attempted to sign Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham for £30 million, but the Bulgarian forward signed for rivals United.
However, on that day City managed to make a big move: the capture, a British record of £32. 5 million, of Brazilian superstar Robinho from Real Madrid.
The arrival of the hugely talented striker was a big intention for City, who in one fell swoop had signalled their ambition to compete for top honours soon.
And Robinho shone at the stadium in the city of Manchester, which would not be renamed Etihad for another three years, scoring in the 3-1 defeat to Chelsea on his debut and scoring 8 times in his first 11 Premier League games.
But the Seleçao striker’s form has deteriorated rapidly. He finished the season with 15 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions and, after one goal in 12 games in the midst of his second crusade with City, returned to his training club Santos on loan before moving for £15m to AC Milan in the summer of 2017-2010.
Three years after acquiring Robinho, City again damaged their record of movements by signing a South American from Madrid. But this time there would be no regrets.
Sergio Agüero arrived from Atletico Madrid on a £38 million contract in July 2011. And over the course of 10 glory-filled seasons at the Etihad, he would identify a legacy as a City legend and Premier League great.
The Argentine striker’s 260 goals in 390 games made him the club’s all-time top smart scorer. And in that set it is arguably the most iconic goal in Premier League history, when he scored a top-scoring goal against Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the 2011-12 season to clinch the top-flight’s first title. City flight in 36 years. .
Signing the arguably record high of the Abu Dhabi City era, the club paid £44 million – plus an additional £5 million – to buy 20-year-old Raheem Sterling from Liverpool in 2015. The relationships between all parties They were tense. He saw the player prepare for his departure from Anfield by asking to be excluded from the Reds’ pre-season tour.
But Sterling showed that he more than valued the effort and expense. In seven seasons with City, he has scored 131 goals and been a key figure in four Premier League wins and a run to the 2021 Champions League final.
City even managed to recoup the maximum of the payment they paid for the England star when he left to sign for Chelsea in the summer of 2022, receiving £47. 5m.
Eyebrows were raised when City paid £54m to sign Kevin De Bruyne in August 2015, breaking his club’s transfer for the second time in six weeks. The Belgian had made little impact at Chelsea earlier in his career and many observers felt City had grossly overpaid a player who had already proven to be below Premier League standards.
Such tests may simply not have been more extensive. De Bruyne shone for two and a half seasons with Wolfsburg, winning the Bundesliga Player of the Year award in his last crusade in Germany.
And in seasons at the Etihad, De Bruyne has reached a point where he has entered the verbal exchange as one of the Premier League’s most important players, winning six titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League.
After losing previous target Virgil van Dijk when the Dutchman joined Liverpool for a record £75m fee in January 2018, City spent big on another defensive upgrade that same month, signing Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao for £57 million.
As Athletic is known to be a reluctant negotiator, City were forced to come with the full clause of the French-born Spanish international’s contract. But for the first part of his five seasons and parts at the Etihad, Laporte’s hefty pay seemed like a bargain.
Because of his calmness with the ball, his strength in the air and the authority with which he patrolled City’s defensive line, Laporte was one of the most productive centre-backs in the Premier League at his best. Injuries affected his final months at the club, but he had still won five league titles and a Champions League when he was sold to Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League in August 2023.
After winning the PFA Player of the Year award for his role in Leicester City’s miraculous 2015-16 Premier League triumph, Riyad Mahrez was one of the stars of English football.
The Algerian winger came close to joining Chelsea before City stepped in with a £60m offer to take him to the Etihad in July 2018. And during five seasons at Manchester Blues, Mahrez played a role in Pep Guardiola’s attack, scoring 78 goals and providing 56 assists.
Mahrez left City to join Saudi club Al Ahly in a £30m deal in 2023.
For much of Guardiola’s early reign, a nagging question loomed over City’s clients for continued success: how could they upgrade veteran but important defensive midfielder Fernandinho?
In the summer of 2019, City responded unequivocally with Rodri’s club-record signing for £62. 8m.
The Spanish director had established himself as one of La Liga’s deep playmakers and Sergio Busquets’ heir as La Roja’s midfield metronome since his breakthrough with Villarreal.
That reputation has only flourished in a single season with Atlético de Madrid. By the time Fernandinho returned to Brazil in 2022, Rodri had cemented his European prestige in his role.
He was named Champions League Player of the Season after City won the treble in 2022-23 and was named European Championship Player of the Tournament after leading Spain to glory at Euro 2024.
When City activated the clause in Jack Grealish’s contract at Aston Villa in August 2021, it made the winger the most loved English player of all time.
Firstly, Grealish took time to adapt to Guardiola’s system, scoring just six goals and four assists in 39 appearances in his first season at the Etihad.
However, the former Villa academy player adapted to life under the Catalan strategist from his second season at City and was key to the club’s fortunes in the treble, providing 11 assists, his goal production reduced to five goals in 50 games.
Last season, Grealish was less in demand after the signing of Belgian winger Jeremy Doku. His lack of form and his embarrassment at the Etihad led to him being excluded from the Three Lions squad for Euro 2024.