Manchester City are hurtling towards the treble, and it feels like this is only the start for Pep Guardiola and Erling Haaland.
Should they get this over the line, this will be 14 trophies in five seasons under the Catalan.
Before all of this, they won two Premier League titles and a host of domestic cups under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini.
That was an interesting time for the club, as they looked to find some combination that would allow them to dominate English football.
With this in mind, it’s worth a look at forgotten players to feature for Manchester City over the last 15 years.
GK - Claudio Bravo – The shot-stopper was signed from Barcelona in the summer of 2016 and he arrived having won everything that was to be won in Spain. Bravo made just 29 appearances for the Sky Blues over a four year spell, and he picked up two Premier League winners medals.
RB – Fabian Delph – The midfielder was often converted into a full-back under Guardiola and this was cited as one of the reasons for City losing 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final tie in 2019. Delph lacked the pace and positional experience to deal with Son Heung-min, and the forward ended up scoring the only goal of the game.
CB - Dedryck Boyata – Before the trophies with Celtic and a run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup with Belgium, Boyata was a young defender trying to make his name known at Manchester City. He came through the club’s academy and stepped up to the first team in 2009. He has six appearances in Europe for City, all in the Europa League.
CB - Matija Nastasić – The Serbian defender spent three years in Manchester and worked in the centre of defence at a time that saw Vincent Kompany act as the frontman in a quartet. He never made more than 21 Premier League appearances in a season, but he did get out onto the pitch 9 times in the Champions League.
LB – Wayne Bridge – The Premier League champion with Chelsea was brought to Manchester in 2008 and stayed for four seasons. He never got to hear the Champions League anthem at the Etihad as he was played at a time when City were regulars in the Europa League.
CM – Frank Lampard – One of the most famous players to ever wear a blue jersey, just in a darker shade. The midfielder joined City before moving to the USA to play for New York City FC. He made 38 appearances during the 2014-15 season for City and played three times in the Champions League.
CM – Owen Hargreaves – The two time Champions League winner moved across Manchester in 2011 and signed for the noisy neighbours. This came as a shock to everyone as he was expected to join West Bromwich Albion. Hargreaves only made one appearance in the league, and featured twice in domestic cup competitions.
Owen Hargreaves: Man City pic.twitter.com/71W9FDfgAb
— Andy (@AndreasFares) June 23, 2019
CM - Jack Rodwell – The midfielder’s arrival caught everyone off guard during the summer of 2012 and expectations were high given what Manchester City were trying to achieve. Rodwell only made 16 appearances in a sky blue jersey, and he left for a tour around England with various clubs.
LM – Scott Sinclair – The Celtic legend wrote his name into Scottish football folklore by helping the club complete an unbeaten season and win a domestic treble. Before that he lined out for Manchester City and made 13 appearances in blue This wasn’t his first time playing in that colour, he was once on the books at Chelsea.
ST – Wilfred Bony – The striker was one of the hottest names in English football in the mid 2010s over his spell at Swansea City. The club that landed his signature was Manchester City, and he ended up making 36 appearances between 2015 and 2017. Bony repaid the club with six goals, and was sold back to Swansea after just two years. The Ivory Coast international now plays in Bol8ivia with Always Ready.
RM - Jesús Navas – Despite having over 100 appearances for Man City, Navas is a player that almost every football fan associates with Sevilla. The winger, who can also drop back, won two Premier League titles before returning home to his boyhood club. Navas arguably one of the biggest heroes that Seville has ever produced and his spell in Manchester looks more and more like a prolonged Erasmus year as time goes on.
