The Best Players Man City Signed With ‘Disguised Funding’

In David Peace’s novel The Damned United, the author roughly outlines Brian Clough’s first interaction with his Leeds United roster after succeeding Don Revie at the helm of the reigning First Division champions in 1974.

“The first thing you can do for me is chuck all your medals and all your caps and all your pots and all your pans into the biggest f------ dustbin you can find. Because you’ve never won any of them fairly. You’ve done it all by cheating,” Clough, admirably played by Michael Sheen in the film adaptation, told the likes of Billy Bremner, Johnny Giles and Norman Hunter.

That was the gist of it, anyway. Supposedly one of the few accurate sequences offered by Peace.

The monologue is prescient in the wake of Manchester City’s guilty verdict. The Cityzens have been deemed to have fuelded their rise to the summit of English soccer by cheating the finances, placing an asterisk on their extraordinary success.

While those responsible for the on-field magic cannot be blamed for City’s financial fraudulence, plenty will call for dustbins to be filled with silverware claimed by the club’s greatest. The Cityzens weren’t merely able to spend big; they also spent really well.

Here are the 15 best players signed by ’Sham City’ during their era of “disguised funding."

15. Leroy Sané

The Etihad Stadium rose in expectation when Leroy Sané had the ball at his feet at the start of his Manchester City career. Electricity came off of German as he stormed into space and weaved between hopeful defenders.

Sané’s potential became clear at the end of his debut season, and he built upon this promise in the ’Centurions’ campaign of 2017–18. The winger notched 25 Premier League goal contributions and was named PFA Young Player of the Year.

Another stellar season followed in 2018–19, but an ACL tear suffered in the 2019 Community Shield meant his City career ended rather abruptly. Bayern Munich came in for him the following summer.

14. Gabriel Jesus

Gabriel Jesus arrived in Manchester as a wide-eyed 19-year-old keen to impress an audience unfamiliar with his work.

The Brazilian laughed wildly at the concept of ’acclimatisation,’ immediately settling into Pep Guardiola’s framework and complementing a group that would soon dominate the Premier League.

Jesus may have never attained superstardom in Manchester, but he was relied upon for more than half a decade by Guardiola. The versatile forward delivered huge moments, notably the goal that earned City their 100th point in 2017–18, and he left the club in 2022 with a buttload of silverware.

13. Aymeric Laporte

Virgil van Dijk has rightly been regarded as the Premier League’s most dominant center back since he rocked up at Anfield in January 2018.

However, there was a time when Aymeric Laporte stood alongside the Dutchman. Laporte differed drastically in profile to Van Dijk, but was nonetheless stationed on the left-hand side of City’s defense. His work with the ball added an extra layer of variability to sophisticated build-up play, and he rarely drifted from a state of serenity when asked to defend.

His 2018–19 season was outstanding, but a significant knee injury sustained at the start of the following campaign saw the Spaniard’s stock take a considerable hit.

Still, Laporte scored the winning goal in the 2021 League Cup final before he was gradually phased out.

12. Carlos Tevez

Carlos Tévez — Power shift. | Alex Livesey/Getty Images

This was the signing that signaled a potential power shift in Manchester.

Argentine striker Carlos Tevez lifted a pair of Premier League titles and won the Champions League with Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils during a two-year loan, yet opted against signing for Manchester United permanently in 2009.

Instead, Tevez joined United’s burgeoning “noisy neighbors” who certainly let the city know. Tevez’s infamous ’Welcome to Manchester’ billboard taunted the Red Devils, who were perhaps unsuspecting of the Sky Blues’ imminent rise.

Tevez’s career with City ended in acrimony, but he averaged a goal every two games for four years, and added a third Premier League winners’ medal to his collection.

11. John Stones

John Stones became the second-most expensive defender in history when he signed for Man City in 2016, yet few would’ve backed the Englishman to enjoy a prosperous career at the Etihad after a wretched first season.

Stones was plagued by mental errors, and Guardiola had to convince the media he had no interest in parting ways with the Englishman at the end of a tough debut campaign.

The resilient Stones responded, and a glittering decade-long career with the Cityzens is a testament to his character. He quickly established himself as a critical figure in Guardiola’s defense and was forced to shake off an array of fitness setbacks on his way to greatness in Manchester.

10. Kyle Walker

The club acted ruthlessly after Guardiola’s disappointing first season, making a move for Tottenham Hotspur starting right back Kyle Walker in the summer of 2017.

Walker had developed into one of the Premier League’s best in his position, coming off of an outstanding campaign as a flying wingback for Mauricio Pochettino’s 86-point Lilywhites.

Still, few backed Walker to evolve into the fullback Guardiola required, but the England international made a mockery of such claims. He became one of the Spaniard’s most trusted on-field lieutenants, and racked up more than 300 appearances for the club during an eight-year career.

9. Raheem Sterling

The most prosperous spell of Raheem Sterling’s harshly scrutinized career arrived under Guardiola.

Sterling had initially underwhelmed after joining from Liverpool in 2015, but the winger, so often arriving at the right place at the right time, logged three outstanding goalscoring campaigns with the Cityzens between 2017–18 and 2019–20. During this period, Sterling scored 55 Premier League goals, peaking with 20 in 2019–20.

His reliability seldom ceased until he was shipped off to Chelsea in 2022. And despite his impressive haul of 218 goal contributions in 339 games for the club, not to mention the abundance of silverware, there’s a sense that Sterling’s work in Manchester has slipped under the radar.

8. Fernandinho

Fernandinho joined the club ahead of their second Premier League title success in 2013–14, when Chilean Manuel Pellegrini was at the helm.

The Brazilian midfielder was a steady, reliable figure at the start of his lengthy City stint, rarely putting a foot wrong. However, his game reached new heights once Guardiola got involved.

City’s boss adored him, and not merely because he mastered the art of avoiding the referee’s book. Fernandinho was a steely holding midfielder who operated as his enforcer right up until his legs started to go toward the end of his time in Manchester.

The Brazilian succeeded David Silva as captain in 2020, and he may well have gotten his hands on the Champions League trophy had Guardiola included him in his starting lineup in the final against Chelsea in Porto.

7. Ederson

While Manuel Neuer is heralded as the leading revolutionary between the posts, there’s no denying that Ederson shaped the way coaches view the position once his technical prowess became clear on English soil.

After suffering through a year of Claudio Bravo-induced mayhem, City smartly pivoted to the relatively unknown Brazilian in 2017.

The club paid a sizeable fee to get him from Benfica, but it was still one of their great scouting triumphs. Ederson, seemingly as adept with the ball at his feet as any of City’s outfielders, helped transform Guardiola’s side into an untouchable force.

City’s dominance was ignited by his arrival, and he left in 2025 having made 372 appearances for the club.

6. İlkay Gündoğan

The German midfielder was the first signing of the Guardiola era at Man City, and he merely set the club back $26.5 million. Perhaps that’s the real crime.

There’s no underplaying the extent of İlkay Gündoğan’s influence. He cosplayed as a center forward for a little while, and was also able to shapeshift into a Rodri-like controller when midfield serenity was needed.

Gündoğan was City’s chameleon and an incredible servant. Just forget about the underwhelming second spell when he came back from Barcelona.

5. Yaya Touré

Before forgotten birthdays and his relationship with Guardiola deteriorated, Yaya Touré was perhaps the most dominant Premier League midfielder so many of us had seen.

Touré was one of the early arrivals in the City project, signing from Barcelona in 2010. The Ivorian was an utterly unique profile who could only be recreated in a virtual realm.

His match-winning strike in the 2011 FA Cup final ensured City caught the silverware bug—a first trophy in 35 years—and his 2013–14 campaign sated the appetites of those keen to enjoy Touré’s glorious majesty weekly. He ended the Premier League season with 20 goals from midfield, as City pipped Liverpool to the title.

One of a kind.

4. Bernardo Silva

No player made more Man City appearances during the Guardiola era than Bernardo Silva (460), who fittingly moved on to pastures new when the Spaniard called it quits in 2026.

Bernardo arrived in Manchester as a spritely, creative winger from Monaco, but was soon converted into a scrappy midfield controller who would often transform into Eliud Kipchoge for 90 minutes just because he fancied it.

The Portuguese was undoubtedly shaped by Pep, but the impish brilliance that convinced City to sign him a decade ago never ceased.

He was the man for a big occasion who felt the cathartic highs and bitter lows as deeply as any die-hard supporter.

3. David Silva

You can’t help but purr every time you hear the name: David Silva.

What a player! typically follows. In truth, there‘s not a statement more fitting for the Spanish wizard.

It’s easily forgotten that Silva spent the entire 2010s with City, from his shaggy-haired early 20s to his shaved-headed twilight. The magic from Silva’s left boot failed to waver even as father time threatened.

He inspired City’s first two title successes and was part of the Spanish playmaking contingent that helped civilize and brighten up Premier League soccer following the ruggedness of the 2000s.

A delightful relationship with Guardiola came as no surprise, as Silva’s trophy haul grew exponentially before his departure in 2020.

2. Sergio Agüero

Guardiola didn’t know Erling Haaland would soon fall into his lap when he muttered through tears that the club couldn’t possibly replace Sergio Agüero, who called time on his Man City career in 2021.

The Argentine had scored 184 Premier League goals—then the most by any player for one club—and delivered the most iconic moment in the competition’s history. While so many were responsible for City’s on-pitch rise, English soccer may well have looked a whole lot different over the past 15 years had he not struck with the last kick of the 2011–12 season.

That moment alone entrenched Agüero in City folklore, but he nonetheless became their record goalscorer. His haul of 260 will take some beating, especially with Haaland’s long-term future potentially in serious doubt.

1. Kevin De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne was no more than an “upset kid” in the eyes of José Mourinho, as the Belgian struggled to find his way at Chelsea before getting going at Wolfsburg in Germany.

De Bruyne swiftly returned to England with an extra ounce of determination, particularly keen to prove Mourinho and the like horribly wrong.

His 422 games, 108 goals, 177 assists and 16 major honors would suggest Man City’s outstanding No. 17 did a pretty good job.

He’s the best they’ve ever had.

Add us as a preferred source on Google