Manchester City are now among the world’s biggest clubs with boatloads of money at their disposal, but not every player they sign is a success.
Over the years, a number of players have made the move to the blue side of Manchester. Many have met expectations, particularly during Pep Guardiola’s reign, but some have also failed to shine.
In fact, an array of players have gone completely downhill ever since pulling on the sky blue shirt.
Here are 11 examples.
1. Nolito
Man City appearances: 30
Clubs played for since: Sevilla
With 39 goals across three seasons for Celta Vigo and having impressed for Spain at Euro 2016, Nolito became one of Pep Guardiola’s first signings at Man City in the summer of 2016. Things initially looked promising as Nolito started the season reasonably well and looked as if he would become a regular for club and country.
But he quickly began to tail off and finished the season with just six goals in 30 appearances. Claiming to be unsettled in England, the Spaniard returned to La Liga with Sevilla after just one year in the Premier League. He hasn’t done much better for Sevilla and has barely featured for Spain over the last two years.
2. Wilfried Bony
Man City appearances: 46
Clubs played for since: Stoke City (loan), Swansea City
Once considered one of the best strikers outside the top six of the Premier League, Swansea City’s Wilfried Bony soon attracted the attention of Man City and made a January move to the Etihad midway through the 2014/15 season. He scored twice in his first 12 games and continued that poor form in his second season with just eight goals in all competitions.
Injuries haven’t helped, but Bony hasn’t managed to replicate his form of old in torrid spells at Stoke City and now back at Swansea, where he is languishing in the Championship.
3. Eliaquim Mangala
Man City appearances: 79
Clubs played for since: Valencia (loan), Everton (loan)
Eliaquim Mangala is one of only two players on this list who still actually plays for Manchester City. You wouldn’t know it, though; the defender hasn’t made a single first-team appearance this season. Remarkably, he played nine times in the Premier League for City last term, so he received a medal. Mangala looked to get his career back on the road with a loan move to Everton in January but was injured just two games into his Goodison Park spell.
The 27-year-old won two league titles in Portugal with Porto, but his reputation has taken quite a hit since then.
4. Alvaro Negredo
Man City appearances: 49
Clubs played for since: Valencia, Middlesbrough, Besiktas
On the back of scoring 31 goals for Sevilla in 2012/13, Negredo was bought by City and started his career at the Etihad excellently. He scored six goals in five League Cup games on the way to winning the competition, but the goals quickly dried up after February.
The Spaniard ended the season with just nine Premier League goals and looked a shadow of the player who started the campaign so clinically. He returned to La Liga with Valencia, but soon found himself back in England with Middlesbrough. Negredo didn’t excel at either club and is now at Besiktas.
5. Jack Rodwell
Man City appearances: 25
Clubs played for since: Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers
A ‘what could have been’ story if ever there was one. Jack Rodwell was once rated among the most talented young players in England, but a series of knee injuries have stopped him from fulfilling his potential. He is currently contracted to Championship club Blackburn. Who knows what might have happened had he stayed fit at City?
Buying him was a risk in the first place. He had missed plenty of football for Everton but City hoped he was over the worst of his injuries. Unfortunately, they were wrong.
6. Maicon
Man City appearances: 13
Clubs played for since: AS Roma
Manchester City should have noticed Maicon was no longer the player he once was when Gareth Bale tore him apart for Tottenham in the 2010/11 Champions League group stages. Two years later, the Brazilian full-back made the move to the Etihad but lasted only a year, making just 13 appearances. Perhaps, then, he was already on the decline.
He eventually returned to Italy, but his performances for Roma haven’t matched his best outings for Inter from his heyday.
7. Scott Sinclair
Man City appearances: 19
Clubs played for since: West Brom (loan), Aston Villa, Celtic
Having scored eight times in 38 appearances in his debut Premier League season for Swansea, Sinclair jumped at the chance to join Manchester City. In hindsight, it wasn’t the wisest of decision for either party. Sinclair barely featured, partly because of his insufficient ability, and partly because City had so many better options.
He has had plenty of success at Celtic since moving to Scotland in 2016, but his career has clearly gone downhill since he left Swansea.
8. Roque Santa Cruz
Man City appearances: 24
Clubs played for since: Blackburn (loan), Real Betis (loan), Malaga, Cruz Azul, Olimpia Asuncion
Yet another player City picked from the lower reaches of the Premier League, Roque Santa Cruz was a strange deal for the Manchester Club. He had enjoyed a brilliant first season in England but his second campaign for Blackburn was uninspiring – he scored just six goals.
City went for him anyway, but the move was a total disaster. He scored four times for the club before returning to Blackburn on loan.
9. Claudio Bravo
Man City appearances: 44
Clubs played for since: N/A
Our second player who is still contracted to Manchester City is Claudio Bravo, the goalkeeper Guardiola counted on to allow his team to play out from the back. But despite his ability with his feet, the Chilean completely lost the capability to keep the ball out of the net.
Guardiola moved quickly to sign Ederson the following summer, and Bravo is now very much the reserve goalkeeper.
10. Fernando
Man City appearances: 102
Clubs played for since: Galatasaray
Fernando made over 100 appearances for Manchester City, but all he had to show for it was the 2015/16 League Cup. That is a rather poor return compared to his four Portuguese league titles with previous club Porto. He has even won the Turkish top-flight with Galatasaray since leaving City, but he hasn’t reached his Porto heights since leaving Portugal.
In the battle of the Brazilians with similar names in City’s midfield, Fernandinho certainly came out on top.
11. Jô
Man City appearances: 42
Clubs played for since: Everton (loan), Galatasaray (loan), Internacional, Atletico Mineiro, Al Shabab, Jiangsu Suning, Corinthians, Nagoya Grampus
With 44 goals in 77 appearances for CSKA Moscow, you can see why Manchester City signed Brazilian striker Jô in 2008. Since then, however, he has failed to score more than six goals in a single season for any of the three European clubs he’s turned out for.
Jô has had a bit more success elsewhere, bagging 19 goals for Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro in 2013. But generally, he hasn’t lasted long anywhere.
The post 11 players whose careers went downhill after joining Man City appeared first on Squawka News.
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