Manchester City Football Club
Nicknames – The Citizens, Sky Blues, City
Best PL Finish – 1st (2011/12, 2013/14, 2017/18)
Few clubs can claim to have had more of a roller-coaster ride in the Premier League era than Manchester City.
In 1997/98, City suffered relegation to the third tier for the first time in their history. Ten years later they were back in the Premier League, losing 8-1 to Middlesbrough on the final day of the season. Fast forward to now and they are among the best teams in the world, having set several records on the way to a dominant Premier League title months ago.
With one of the most expensive squads in world football, Manchester City have a rich, if short, history of high profile transfers.
Top 5 Record Transfer Fees (as of 04/02/19):
- Riyad Mahrez – £60 million (from Leicester City – July 2018)
- Aymeric Laporte – £57 million (from Athletic Bilbao – January 2018)
- Kevin De Bruyne – £55 million (from Wolfsburg – August 2015)
- Benjamin Mendy – £52 million (from Monaco – July 2017)
- John Stones – £47.5 million (from Everton – August 2016)
(Figures include initial fees in GBP at the time of the transfer, as reported by the BBC unless specified otherwise)
Biggest Flop – Robinho
Despite a plethora of options including Eliaquim Mangala, Rolando Bianchi and Jo, one player sits above the rest when it comes to Manchester City’s biggest flop.
On the final day of the summer transfer window in 2008, Manchester City broke the British transfer record when they paid a reported £32.5 million to Real Madrid for Robinho.
The then 24-year-old, already a two-time La Liga and Brazilian Serie A winner, failed to live up to his price tag in spectacular fashion.
Before playing a game, Robinho shocked City fans when he said, “On the last day, Chelsea made a great proposal and I accepted”. It had to be pointed out by a reporter that he had in fact signed for Manchester City.
Despite a 14-goal haul in his debut season in the Premier League, he did not set the world alight. By January 2010 he had slipped down the pecking order, ultimately sealing a loan move back to Brazil with Santos.
The Premier League’s former most expensive player now plies his trade at Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey.
Biggest Bargain – Vincent Kompany
Though Robinho stole all the headlines in summer 2008, it was another signing from that window that ultimately became a club legend.
Nine days before Robinho joined, 22-year-old Vincent Kompany swapped Hamburg for Eastlands for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £10 million.
Wherever the fee was within that region, Kompany has more than proved his worth. Now 32, the big Belgian centre-half is club captain, having lifted the Premier League three times, in addition to an FA Cup and three League Cups.
In an age when few foreign players stay long enough to earn a testimonial in world football, let alone the Premier League, Kompany’s passion for the club has ensured that he will forever be remembered by the City faithful.
For all the money that City have thrown around since 2008, Vincent Kompany will always be their greatest ever signing.
Records & Trivia
- City have the records for the most expensive Brazilian, Italian, Portuguese, Bosnian and Englishman in the Premier League (Ederson, Mario Balotelli, Bernardo Silva, Edin Dzeko and Kyle Walker (including add-ons, John Stones based on initial fees))
- The Citizens have paid over £250 million on defenders currently in their first team squad, the most of any team in the Premier League.
- Kelechi Iheanacho’s £25 million move to Leicester is the biggest transfer fee paid to Manchester City, they have signed 24 players for higher fees.
- Only three members of City’s squad to have made a competitive senior appearance were not signed for a fee; Phil Foden, Arijanet Muric and Eric Garcia.
- Not including academy graduates, captain Vincent Kompany is the longest serving squad member, followed by David Silva and Sergio Aguero.
