Manchester City will have to go back to the drawing board this week following Saturday’s home defeat to Tottenham.
City endured a miserable 2024/25, relinquishing the Premier League crown they had won in four successive seasons and also making an early exit from Europe.
This season was supposed to be about redemption. They made a bright start, winning 4-0 at Wolves on the opening weekend, but the Spurs game was arguably the first real test of the rebuilt City, and they failed.
Guardiola was outcoached by Thomas Frank while the club’s 2025 rebuild continues to look unconvincing.
Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and James Trafford have all been signed for big money – City have spent approximately £350million this calendar year – and yet they appear still well behind the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal.
City used to be canny operators in the transfer market but it is now fair to question the direction the recruitment team are taking.
You could also argue the club don’t sell very well.
City have discarded some serious talent since Guardiola took over in 2016.
Here, we look at an XI of players that have left the Etihad over the past nine years. It’s fair to ask if the ‘dumped XI’ would beat the current City line-up?
Goalkeeper
Arijanet Muric – sold to Burnley for £2.6m in 2022
This choice would’ve been much easier had Trafford not returned to the club this summer.
Muric never made a Premier League appearance for City. He had loan spells at NAC Breda, Nottingham Forest, Girona, Willem II and Adana Demirspor before securing a permanent move to Turf Moor.
He was a regular in the side that clinched promotion to the Premier League in 2022/23 before joining Ipswich. Is currently playing for Sassuolo in Serie A.
Right-back
Pedro Porro – sold to Sporting CP for £7.6m in 2022
Porro joined City from Girona but failed to usurp Kyle Walker from the right-back slot.
Loan moves to Valladolid and Sporting CP followed before he moved to the Lisbon club on a permanent basis in May 2022. Just eight months later he moved to Tottenham on a deal that became permanent in the summer of 2023 for a fee approaching £35m. Has impressed in North London and is regarded as one of the better attacking full-backs in the top flight.
Left-back
Joao Cancelo – sold to Al-Hilal for £21.5m in 2024
Cancelo’s CV is mightily impressive with spells at Benfica, Inter, Juventus, City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona. However, he was deemed surplus to requirements at the Etihad after a reported row with Guardiola, despite playing a part in three Premier League title wins. Now playing for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
Centre-halves
Aymeric Laporte – sold to Al-Nassr for £24m in 2023
One of the lynchpins of City’s successes under Guardiola – Laporte won five Premier League titles and the Champions League during his time in Manchester. Was surprisingly allowed to leave in 2023 to join Saudi side Al-Nassr, where he plays alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. Has been linked with a move back to Europe with Real Madrid.
Nicolas Otamendi – sold to Benfica for £13m in 2020
Gained a reputation as a wild and unreliable defender during his time at City and was often unfairly singled out for criticism. His career since has proved his critics wrong. Otamendi has won two Copas America with Argentina and started the World Cup final win over France in Qatar. Still going strong at 37, will almost certainly be a part of Lionel Scaloni’s squad that will hope to defend their world title in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.
Midfield
Douglas Luiz – sold to Aston Villa for £16.5m in 2019
Brought to Europe from Vasco da Gama, Luiz never appeared in a first-team game for City. Was sent on loan to Girona before moving to Villa Park after being granted a work permit. Quickly established himself as a key player for Villa, making over 150 appearances before moving to Juventus for £43m. Failed to settle in Turin and last week joined Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan.
Jack Grealish – loaned to Everton for the 2025/26 season
Grealish remains City’s record signing after joining from Aston Villa for £100m in 2021. Showed flashes of his natural ability under Guardiola but was often shunted out to the left wing where he sometimes struggled to influence games. Won three Premier League titles and the Champions League but his relationship with Guardiola never seemed built on mutual trust. Has made an impressive start at Everton and made both goals in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Brighton.
Riyad Mahrez – sold to Al-Ahli for £30m in 2023
Was Africa’s most expensive footballer when he joined City for £60m in 2018 after playing a key role in Leicester’s remarkable Premier League triumph in 2016. Won four more Premier League titles at City and was a part of the side that completed the domestic and continental treble that included the Champions League in 2023. Helped Al-Ahli win the AFC Champions League in 2025.
Cole Palmer – sold to Chelsea for £42m in 2023
The poster boy for those who criticise City’s sales. Local boy Palmer joined City aged seven and progressed through the youth ranks before making his debut in 2020. Was never given much of a chance at first-team level though and left for Chelsea in a bid to play more Premier League football. Palmer has blossomed at Stamford Bridge, helping them become world champions with two goals in the Club World Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain. Regarded as one of the best creative talents in Europe, he should be a cornerstone of the new-look England under Thomas Tuchel.
Leroy Sane – sold to Bayern Munich for an initial £39m in 2020
Would have left City earlier had it not been for an ACL injury in the 2019 Community Shield against Liverpool. A hugely talented winger who won four Bundesliga crowns at Bayern before leaving for Galatasaray at the start of this season.
Striker
Julian Alvarez – sold to Atletico Madrid for £65m in 2024
City can at least claim to have made a huge profit on Alvarez after signing him for just £14m in 2022. Scored 20 goals in 67 games at the Etihad but became increasingly frustrated at a lack of playing time behind Erling Haaland. Was allowed to leave for Atleti, for whom he scored 29 goals and provided eight assists in 57 appearances across all competitions in his debut season in Spain. His departure looked even more mystifying when Haaland sustained an ankle injury that kept him out for several weeks as City limped through the 2024/25 season.
Substitutes
Edin Dzeko
James McAtee
Ferran Torres
Angelino
Eric Garcia
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Gabriel Jesus
Danilo
Kyle Walker
Raheem Sterling
Taylor Harwood-Bellis
