What happened to the Man City players sold by Guardiola

Published on: 27 March 2020

Pep Guardiola has completely transformed the Manchester City squad since arriving as manager in the summer of 2016.

Through shrewd recruitment and his tactical nous, the Blues have dominated domestic football in England over the last few years, winning two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two League Cup crowns.

City look likely to be beaten to top spot in the Premier League this season due to the exceptional form of Liverpool, but remain in the hunt for their first Champions League trophy, provided UEFA find a solution to get the Champions League and Europa League back up and running during the coronavirus pandemic.

Players have come and gone during his spell as manager. Here, we take a look at all the player's Guardiola has sold as City manager.

Danilo - The Brazilian was key to Guardiola securing the signature of full-back Joao Cancelo in the summer. The Portuguese made the switch to City and Juventus insisted on Danilo being sent the other way. City met their demands and the former Real Madrid man headed to Italy. He's made 12 appearances in the Serie A this season, scoring one goal.

Douglas Luiz - Guardiola admitted he did not want to sell Douglas Luiz but after City failed to secure the midfielder a work permit, he joined Aston Villa permanently in the summer. He instantly became a key player at Villa Park under Dean Smith, netting three and creating three in 26 Premier League appearances, as well as helping Villa reach the Carabao Cup final where he was beaten by his former side.

Fabian Delph - Delph moved to Everton in search of regular first-team football after sliding down the pecking order at City. The former Aston Villa man's move hasn't gone as he'd hoped with Everton struggling for the most part under Marco Silva. Delph was targeted by Everton fans on social media for his poor performances. Injuries have taken a toll since the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti.

Manu Garcia - The decision to allow Garcia to leave was met with some scepticism given his standing in the City youth academy. But at 22-year-old, time was running out for him to make the grade at senior level. He joined Sporting Gijon in the summer and has made an excellent start to his career, netting three and registering seven assists in the Spanish second division.

Eliaquim Mangala - Left City on a free transfer to join Valencia in the summer bringing to an end his underwhelming spell at City. The Frenchman has struggled for fitness, making just four appearances in La Liga this season. He recently confirmed that he tested positive for the coronavirus and was recovering at home.

Vincent Kompany - While Kompany technically wasn't sold by Guardiola as he took on the Anderlecht job in a player/coach role, he left City on a free transfer and is included here. The Belgian will forever be remembered as a City legend who bled blue. His start as Anderlecht manager got off to a rocky start and later on in the season he dropped his coaching duties to focus on captaining his former club.

Martin Demichelis - The centre-back spent three seasons at the Etihad, winning the Premier League and two League Cups, before being released to join Espanyol. The Argentine made just one appearance for the La Liga side before moving on to previous club Malaga, where he spent six months before announcing his retirement in May 2017.

Edin Dzeko - The Bosnian made his loan move to Roma permanent when Pep Guardiola took over at the Etihad, and he went on to prove why he was so hotly-fancied when signing for City in 2011. He remains a key player for the Serie A side.

Stevan Jovetic - An underwhelming City career saw the Montenegro international shipped out to Inter Milan on loan the season before Guardiola's arrival, with the loan deal made permanent the following season. He failed to score for the Serie A side, and was soon sent on loan to Sevilla where he scored seven in his half-season stay. The La Liga outfit baulked at the price quoted for his services with Monaco, his current club, forking out on Jovetic as a replacement for Kylian Mbappe.

Willy Caballero - The Argentine will forever be remembered in City folklore for his heroics in the 2016 League Cup final. Guardiola, though, wasn't so impressed and moved Caballero on to Chelsea, free of charge, where he has served as deputy to Kepa Arrizabalaga since.

Gael Clichy - The former France international moved to the Etihad from Arsenal in 2011 and spent six successful seasons at City, winning two Premier League titles and two League Cups. He was a victim of Guardiola's defensive cull at the end of his first season in charge, joining Istanbul Basaksehir, where he remains.

Jesus Navas - The 2010 World Cup winner, who suffered from homesickness, took some convincing to sign for City in 2013 but his four-year stay at the Etihad garnered a Premier League title and two League Cups for the speedster. He returned to Sevilla for free in 2017 and has since played on the right for the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan outfit.

Bacary Sagna - Sagna ended his seven-year association with Arsenal to sign for City in 2014 and the right-back spent three seasons at the Etihad before Guardiola deemed him surplus to requirements in 2017. A spell with Italian side Benevento Calcio followed, before the 65-time capped France international joined Montreal Impact in August 2018.

Pablo Zabaleta - Pablo Zabaleta saw it all at Manchester City after Mark Hughes signed him for £6m in 2008. It was an emotional goodbye nine years later when he left for West Ham, where he remains, as Guardiola parted with £100m to rejuvenate his options at full-back.

Nolito - An impressive showing for Spain during Euro 2016 earned the wide man a move to the Etihad for the modest fee, in today's terms, of £14m. His sole season at the Etihad was a frustrating one for him, though, with him struggling to nail down a regular starting berth. Guardiola flogged him to Sevilla the following summer on a three-year deal and he's still on the verges there.

Aleksandar Kolarov - A 2010 signing from Lazio, the Serb won a pair of Premier League and League Cup medals during his seven-year stay in Manchester. He failed to pass the test set out during Guardiola's first season at the Etihad, though, and was sold to Roma in 2017 where he has enjoyed success ever since.

Kelechi Iheanacho - The Blues prospect went mightily close to making the grade at the Etihad but he didn't quite convince Guardiola of his worth. The arrival of Gabriel Jesus didn't help his cause, either. The Nigerian moved to Leicester for £25m.

Fernando - The Brazilian spent three seasons at City after a £12m move from Porto in 2014. He was not the man Guardiola deemed capable of providing competition for Fernandinho at the base of City's midfield, though, and was sold to Galatasaray in the summer of 2017. He later joined Nolito and Navas at Sevilla.

Samir Nasri - Imagine what Nasri could have achieved if Guardiola had taken over at the peak of his career? His vision and ability on the ball seemed a perfect match, but Guardiola saw fit to send the former France international out on loan to Sevilla for the 2016/17 season, before a permanent move to Turkish side Antalyaspor followed the summer after. Nasri was handed an 18-month ban for contravening doping laws for a hydration therapy treatment which saw his contract with the Turkish outfit cancelled, though. After a spell with West Ham, he joined Kompany's Anderlecht side.

Wilfried Bony - Bony was hot property when City parted with £25m for his services in January 2015, but the Ivory Coast international struggled to assert himself at the Etihad in the 18 months before Guardiola's arrival. He spent the first season of Guardiola's tenure on loan at Stoke City before returning to Swansea for half the fee City paid for him in summer 2017. He is now a free agent.

Jadon Sancho - Sancho left the Etihad in the hunt for regular first-team football last summer and has since impressed at German side Borussia Dortmund to the extent that Gareth Southgate called him up to England's senior side for the Nations League games against Croatia and Spain in November 2018. Sancho is enjoying his finest season to date and is a transfer target for Manchester United.

Yaya Toure - The City legend left under something of a cloud at the end of the Blues' record-breaking run to the Premier League crown in 2018. It was the Ivorian's third league title at the club, to add to his FA Cup and two League Cup medals, but he never saw eye-to-eye with Guardiola and was released to join Olympiacos in the summer. A pitch at City's training ground is named after him.

Angus Gunn - Had Guardiola known that Claudio Bravo would suffer such a serious Achilles tendon injury, Angus Gunn might well have stayed at the Etihad as Ederson's back-up. The Blues were not averse to letting him leave, though, with Southampton signing the England under-21 international for £13.5m in the summer on the back of an eye-catching season in the Championship with Norwich. The stopper has mainly been an understudy for the Saints.

Joe Hart - It was a more drawn-out exit than perhaps Joe Hart would have liked, after two seasons on loan at Torino and West Ham respectively, but the former England 'keeper finally got a permanent move away from the Etihad last summer two years after Guardiola had deemed his ability with the ball at his feet to be sub-standard. Injuries to Tom Heaton and Nick Pope at Turf Moor gave Hart a run of games for Burnley earlier in the season, but he's been playing second fiddle and on the bench lately.

Jason Denayer - Jason Denayer never played a senior game for City before Lyon signed him in the summer. His four seasons at the Etihad were punctuated by loan spells at Celtic, Galatasaray (twice) and Sunderland before his permanent move to Ligue 1 was confirmed last summer. The 23-year-old defender offered a glimpse at what he could have offered to Guardiola's side had he been given the chance, with an impressive display against the Blues in the Champions League group-stage game that Lyon won 2-1 in September.

Brahim Diaz - The Spanish wonderkid, who moved to Real Madrid for £15.5m in the January window, made it plain that he simply could not resist the lure of the Bernabeu. City desperately wanted him to stay and offered him a new deal but, rather than lose him for nothing at the end of his contract in summer, reluctantly agreed to the sale. He's failed to break into the first-team since.

Source: m.allfootballapp.com

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more