This incredible Manchester City XI, with 52 Premier League titles between them, was signed for half the amount they received in ‘sham sponsorships’…
The Premier League confirmed on Tuesday that an independent commission has found City guilty of all charges related to breaches of financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.
City, who will appeal but won’t blink, were ruled to have arranged “sham contracts” as well as “relying on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs”.
Over the period investigated, City used a “disguised funding scheme” to inflate the club’s revenue by £830.69million.
In that time, this incredible XI was signed for a total of £416.5million…
GK: Ederson
The perfect goalkeeper for Manchester City, if not the perfect goalkeeper, Ederson’s composure in possession and range of passing added a new dimension to Guardiola’s side when the Brazil stopper was signed from Benfica for £35million in 2017.
Ederson looked even better in comparison to the fella he replaced, Claudio Bravo, the first goalkeeping hologram to play in the Premier League.
RB Kyle Walker
Left City under something of a cloud but not enough to overshadow six titles, four League Cups, two FA Cups and a Champions League after signing from Tottenham for £45million in 2017.
CB: John Stones
After signing from Everton for £47.5million, Stones ‘lived all my dreams’ while bagging the same trophy haul as Walker, plus last season’s Carabao Cup to add a nice flourish prior to leaving after a decade to join Inter Milan.
CB: Aymeric Laporte
City spent what was a club-record fee in January 2018 to sign Laporte from Athletic Bilbao for £57million in one of the last transfers of the nine-season period probed by the Premier League’s investigation.
The Spain centre-back stuck around for longer than we remember him being there – long enough for five Premier League titles.
LB: Gael Clichy
City used their sham cash not only to strengthen themselves in 2011 but also to weaken one of their main rivals.
Clichy moved north from Arsenal with Samir Nasri to win the titles they couldn’t with Arsene Wenger. Silly Arsenal, following the rules…
CM: Fernandinho
The Brazil midfielder was one of City’s most important signings of what used to be called their glory days, arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk for £30million in 2013.
“An incredible player for Manchester City. There are things nobody knows but I know exactly what he has done,” said Guardiola. More to the point, what else did he really know?
CM: Ilkay Gundogan
A similarly pivotal, sometimes underappreciated signing – twice – Gundogan scored huge goals and big braces for City, including two against Villa to win the league on the last day in 2022 and a couple in the 2023 FA Cup final to sink United.
RW: Raheem Sterling
“Seven seasons, 11 major trophies, a lifetime of memories,” said Sterling when he left City in 2022, somehow securing a profit from Chelsea on the £49million they paid Liverpool in 2015.
From City, where he won the PFA and FWA Young Player of the Year double in 2018-19, it was definitely down for Sterling, who is currently struggling to find a club.
AM: Kevin De Bruyne
De Bruyne made the £55million paid to Wolfsburg appear a pittance. The Premier League’s best-ever playmaker?
LW: Leroy Sane
Sane signed for Guardiola for £37million from Schalke in 2016 and after taking a season to settle, the Germany star won the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2017-18.
He played a part in Pep’s first two titles before missing the third because of injury. Which didn’t put off Bayern Munich, who gave City a hefty profit as Sane’s contract was winding down.
CF: Sergio Aguero
Aguero joined City in 2011 for £36million from Atletico Madrid and over 10 years, the Argentina star became City’s greatest goalscorer with 260 goals, including the most famous of all. Which no longer means what it once did…
READ MORE: The Man City cult hero XI who could still do a job in the lower leagues
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Man City’s 25 most expensive transfers in history?
