Manchester City have become one of the dominant forces in world football over the last decade or so – but it wasn't always that way.
City have made some regrettable moves in the transfer market over the years – largely before the era of Middle Eastern money and superstar managers, but not entirely.
From the thoroughly underwhelming to the downright unusual, these are the worst signings in Man City's history.
33. Kalvin Phillips
Kalvin Phillips won't have complained about ending his first Manchester City season with a Premier League winners' medal – but he probably would have wanted to make more than two starts...
A £42m arrival from Leeds United in the summer of 2022, the midfielder kept his place in the England side for that winter's World Cup – only to return from the tournament "overweight" in the eyes of City boss Pep Guardiola.
32. Claudio Bravo
When Pep Guardiola took over as Manchester City manager in July 2016, he inherited two-time Premier League champion Joe Hart – but it was immediately clear that a goalkeeper better with their feet would be needed.
So, Guardiola went and brought in Claudio Bravo from former club Barcelona – and the Chilean did suit the great Catalan tactician's possession game, but he left quite a lot to be desired in terms of goalkeeping basics and was replaced as number one by Ederson after a single season.
31. Emmanuel Adebayor
A £25m arrival from Arsenal in July 2009, Emmanuel Adebayor registered a decent return of 14 goals in 26 Premier League appearances during his first season at Manchester City – including that strike against the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium, after which he incensed his old club's fans by running the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of them.
The Togolese striker's form went off a cliff in 2010/11, though: he netted just five more times in all competitions as a City player, falling way down the pecking order.
30. Maicon
Maicon featured just 13 times in all competitions during an injury-hit single-season stay with Manchester City in 2012/13.
As City failed to retain the Premier League title, the Brazilian failed to dislodge existing right-back options Pablo Zabaleta and Micah Richards from the starting 11 on a regular basis – and he was move on by new manager Manuel Pellegrini at the end of the campaign.
29. Lee Bradbury
Ahead of the 1997/98 season, Manchester City paid a club-record £3m to sign striker Lee Bradbury from Portsmouth; by the end of it, they had been relegated from the Premier League – with Bradbury finding the net only six times (£500,000 a goal doesn't exactly equal great value...).
It would prove to be the only top-flight campaign of Bradbury's career, and he left City for Crystal Palace less than 18 months after signing.
28. Fernando
"I'm looking forward to many happy years in Manchester," Brazilian defensive midfielder Fernando said upon joining Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City from Porto in 2014.
Unfortunately for both parties, while Fernando racked up 102 appearances for the club, his time at City proved to be rather underwhelming – and he left for Galatasaray in 2017 after finding opportunities hard to come by during Pep Guardiola's first season in charge.
27. Bernardo Corradi
Manchester City had their fair share of goal-shy strikers during the 2000s, and Bernardo Corradi was no exception: the Italian found the net just three times in 29 outings for the club in all competitions.
Signed from Valencia in the summer of 2006, Corradi was released by City 12 months before his contract had been due expire – having already been loaned to Parma for the 2007/08 campaign.
26. Glauber
Signed from German outfit Nurnberg, Brazilian centre-back Glauber was the ultimate benchwarmer: an unused substitute an incredible 20 times, he finally made his Manchester City debut in the 84th minute of the final game of the 2008/09 season.
Cheered by City fans whenever he touched the ball in their clash against Bolton Wanderers, Glauber – who left as a free agent after his one-year contract expired – is remembered as something of a cult hero at the Etihad Stadium.
25. Rolando Bianchi
Rolando Bianchi had caught the eye with some decent form in front of goal for Italian outfit Reggina, and it was Manchester City who won the race to sign the striker in July 2007.
Bianchi's City career was short-lived, though: he left the following January, having failed to settle in England – where he publicly admitted he hated the food and complained that referees were too lenient.
"I want to be a top European striker," he claimed. That didn't happen.
24. Barry Conlon
Signed from QPR by then second-tier Manchester City in 1997, Barry Conlon made just eight league appearances (seven of which came from the bench) during his time at Maine Road – and didn't score a single goal.
The Irish striker ended up being loaned out to Plymouth Argyle, before leaving City permanently to join Southend United in 1998.
23. Stevan Jovetic
Having scored 27 Serie A goals in his final two seasons for Fiorentina, Stevan Jovetic seemed a promising acquisition by Manchester City in the summer of 2013.
Unfortunately for City, though, the Montegrin striker was never really anything more than that: he managed only 11 goals in 44 outings in all competitions for Manuel Pellegrini's side (although he did pick up a 2013/14 Premier League winners medal) before returning to Italy with Inter Milan.
22. Laurent Charvet
A £1m acquisition from Newcastle early in the 2000/01 season, Laurent Charvet penned a four-year contract with Manchester City – but the French right-back only got halfway through that deal before leaving by mutual consent.
Following his departure, Charvet would play professionally for less than a year, retiring at the end of the 2002/03 season at the age of just 30 (although he did briefly come out of retirement with amateur club RC Grasse in 2008).
21. Nolito
Pep Guardiola would have known about Nolito during the winger's time as a young fringe player at Barcelona – and he made the Spaniard one his first signings as Manchester City manager in July 2016.
Nolito would spend just one, ineffective season at the Etihad Stadium, though, with his family not settling into life in England. He returned to La Liga with Sevilla just 12 months after joining City.
20. Gerry Creaney
Having seen him score for fun at second-tier Portsmouth, Manchester City gave Scottish striker Gerry Creaney his chance in the English top flight in 1995.
But City's £500,000 signing couldn't cut it at the highest level – despite finding the net on his debut – and had a string of spells out on loan in the second and third tiers before being released in 1999.
Creaney hung up his boots in 2000, just five years after joining City and aged only 30.
19. Eric Garcia
Eric Garcia played in Barcelona's legendary La Masia academy during Pep Guardiola's time in charge at the Camp Nou – and he joined Manchester City's youth set-up the year after Guardiola's 2016 arrival at the club.
At the end of the 2019/20 season, Garcia – who made 36 appearances for City in all – was one of Guardiola's first-choice centre-backs, but he turned down the offer of a new contract in Manchester and he left as a free agent in the summer of 2021 – subsequently re-joining Barca.
18. Javi Garcia
Like his namesake and compatriot Eric after him, Javi Garcia became a Premier League champion with Manchester City – but his time at the Etihad Stadium was rather less successful than that of the team...
A £15.8m signing from Benfica in August 2012, the defensive midfielder featured 80 times for City but was never enormously convincing. He left for Zenit Saint Petersburg after just two seasons in Manchester.
17. Stefan Savic
Stefan Savic went on to enjoy great success with Atletico Madrid, but the Montenegrin centre-half's short and sloppy spell at Manchester City was a low point in his career.
A £6m signing from Partizan Belgrade in July 2011, Savic ended the 2011/12 campaign with a Premier League winners' medal – but he was hardly instrumental to City's success under Roberto Mancini that season, making just 11 league appearances as he failed to dislodge the likes of Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott at the back.
16. George Weah
With hindsight, it's probably obvious that George Weah was a fair way past his best when he joined newly promoted Manchester City on a free transfer in 2000 – having spent the latter part of the 1999/2000 season on loan at Chelsea from AC Milan.
Four goals in nine games constitutes a far better return than plenty of the other strikers on this list, but it's hard not to label the Liberian legend's two-and-a-half months at City a big disappointment.
15. Scott Sinclair
Scott Sinclair was one of Swansea City's star men during the Welsh club's first season in the Premier League – and that earned him a big move to Manchester City on deadline day of the summer 2012 transfer window.
The winger failed to make the grade at the Etihad Stadium, though, managing a mere two league starts in three years, and going out on loan to West Brom and Aston Villa – the latter of whom he left City to join permanently at the end of the 2014/15 campaign.
14. Christian Negouai
Best remembered for being sent off on his one and only Premier League appearance, Christian Negouai's Manchester City career barely took off.
The midfielder joined City in 2001 from Belgian outfit Charleroi and helped Kevin Keegan's side win promotion back to the top flight – but a serious injury requiring operations on both knees severely limited his playing time, and he left in 2005 having seldom featured for the club.
13. Valeri Bojinov
Eighteen goals in three seasons for Fiorentina and Juventus didn't exactly scream 'prolific striker' – but Manchester City saw it fit to hand Valeri Bojinov a four-year contract in the summer of 2007.
But the Bulgarian suffered serious injuries at the beginning of each of his first two seasons at City – for whom he didn't score his first (and only) goal until the penultimate game of the 2008/09 campaign.
Bojinov left City permanently in 2010 – and proceeded to play for 13 clubs over the course of the following decade.
12. Robinho
Manchester City's first real superstar signing of the modern era, Robinho memorably completed a £32.5m move from Real Madrid on deadline day of the 2008 Premier League summer transfer window – coinciding with City's mega-money takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group.
And the Brazilian's return of 14 goals and five assists in the 2008/09 Premier League campaign marked a strong first season in England.
But that was as good as it got for Robinho: he managed just one goal in 12 appearances in all competitions the following season, returning to boyhood club Santos on loan in January 2010.
11. Matias Vuoso
Signing someone who then never plays for you is not ideal – but that's exactly what happened with Manchester City and Mexico striker Matias Vuoso.
Brought in from Argentine club Independiente for £3.5m in the summer of 2002, Vuoso was left baffled by his lack of involvement.
"I haven't even spoken to him," he said of manager Kevin Keegan. "I find it strange he doesn't play me."
10. Jerome Boateng
Another player who won plenty of silverware after leaving Manchester City – with Bayern Munich – Jerome Boateng endured a massively disappointing time in England.
Fortunately for both parties, though, Boateng's City spell was short-lived and City were able to sell him for around the same fee they paid to bring him in from Hamburg in the first place.
The ex-Germany defender joined Bayern in 2011, spending a decade with the Bundesliga giants before leaving for Lyon – where he retired in 2023.
9. Georgios Samaras
Georgios Samaras became the most expensive Greek player of all time when he made the £6m move from Heerenveen to Manchester City during the 2006 winter transfer window.
The striker also went on to become one of City's biggest flops of all time, managing just eight goals in 54 Premier League appearances – and only 12 in 64 outings in all competitions – before moving on to Celtic in 2008.
8. Roque Santa Cruz
Manchester City have had some fantastic South American players over the years – but Paraguay legend Roque Santa Cruz was certainly not one of them.
Having made his mark on the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers, the former Bayern Munich striker joined City for £17.5m in the summer of 2009.
Reuniting with Mark Hughes – his boss at Blackburn – didn't have the desired effect for Santa Cruz, however, and he didn't feature for City after 2010, leaving two years later with a record of four goals in 24 games.
7. Martin Demichelis
Martin Demichelis was a regular as Manchester City won the 2013/14 Premier League title under Manuel Pellegrini – who had managed him at Malaga – but there was always a sense that City were succeeding in spite of the Argentine centre-back, not because of him.
Towards the end of his time at the Etihad Stadium, Demichelis – who arrived from Atletico Madrid in September 2013 – was fined by the FA for breaching gambling rules; he was released by City in the summer of 2016.
6. Benjamin Mendy
Signed from Monaco in July 2017 for £52m – a record fee for a defender at the time – Benjamin Mendy spent six years at Manchester City but never made more than 19 Premier League appearances in a single season.
Mendy didn't play for almost two years at the end of his City contract due to legal issues, and he was released when his deal expired in the summer of 2023.
5. Jo
Per letter, getting Jo's name on the back of your shirt would have been the cheapest possible option – which was probably just as well for any Manchester City fans who decided to do so: the beanpole Brazilian striker was a huge flop.
Signed from CSKA Moscow in July 2008 for a reported £19m – a club-record fee at the time – Jo ended up costing City a touch over £3m per goal as he struck just six times in 42 games in all competitions (he bagged seven goals in two spells away on loan at Everton).
4. Benjani
Unlike Jo, Benjani did at least have a track record for scoring goals in the Premier League when he joined Manchester City – five months before the Brazilian – but just like Jo, he didn't seem to know where the net was for his new club.
The Zimbabwe international had bagged 12 goals in 23 Premier League goals during his final campaign at Portsmouth; he managed just four in 23 in total for City, leaving in 2010 and retiring four years later.
3. Jack Rodwell
Jack Rodwell got a Premier League winners' medal with Manchester City in 2013/14, but the midfielder was only a bit-part player during his two-year spell at the Etihad Stadium.
A £12m arrival from Everton in the summer of 2012, Rodwell never realised his potential and left City for Sunderland just two years after joining.
By the age of 30, the former England international was playing his club football in the Australian A-League – after stints with Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United.
2. Wilfried Bony
Wilfired Bony's £25m move to Manchester City in January 2014 was somewhat eyebrow-raising: the stocky Ivorian striker had shown impressive goalscoring form for Swansea City, but he didn't seem like the right fit for Man City.
And so it proved, as Bony bagged just six goals in 36 Premier League games (having notched 25 in 54 for his previous club) and returned to Swansea in 2017 (after a season-long loan at Stoke City) – for less than half of what City had paid.
1. Eliaquim Mangala
Reported to have been signed for more than £40m, French centre-back Eliaquim Mangala joined Manchester City from Porto in the summer of 2014 – and he impressed on his Premier League debut against Chelsea.
It was all downhill from there for Mangala, though, and he found himself sent out on loan to Valencia just two years after arriving at the Etihad Stadium.
That kind of fee was an enormous amount of money for a centre-half in 2014 – even for a club with cash reserves as vast as City – and the combination of financial outlay and on-pitch performance nudges him into first place on the list.
