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Before being bought by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, Manchester City were just a normal mid-level club in the Premier League during the best of times. However, things have changed for the blue side of Manchester in the last 12 years and they are now widely considered as one of the best sides in the world.
Manchester City have gone on to win 4 league titles, 2 FA Cups, and 5 league cups and during that time they have spent millions and millions on transfer fees to ensure all that success.
During that time they bought a lot of top players with the likes of David Silva, Vincent Kompany, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, Gareth Barry, Kevin De Bruyne and many more going on to establish themselves as some of the best in the business.
However, during that time of spending all that money, several players they bought ended up struggling to get going while some just decided to leave after a season. A number of these high-profile players they signed have already been forgotten about.
Here is a look at 5 players who played for Manchester City that you have probably forgotten about.
#1 Sylvinho
Former Arsenal, Barcelona, and Corinthians player Sylvinho joined Manchester City at the start of the 2009/10 season and this would be the Brazilian's last stint as a football player. In that one season, Manchester City finished 5th in the league with Sylvinho making a total of 15 appearances and scoring once. He retired in the post season.
Since his retirement, Sylvinho has tried his hand at management but unfortunately, the former left-back was not as good a manager as he was a player. He started as the assistant manager with Brazilian club Cruzeiro following which he was appointed as Roberto Mancini's assistant coach at Inter Milan.
He also worked as an assistant for the Brazilian national team and his most high-profile job saw him replace Bruno Genesio as manager of Lyon in 2019 but a string of bad results saw him sacked a few months later.
#2 Loris Karius
Everyone in the footballing world knows who Loris Karius is. The German keeper will always be remembered for costing Liverpool the Champions League final against Real Madrid. However, not a lot of football fans might know this but the German was a part of the Manchester City youth set-up for 2 years.
Karius joined City from Stuttgart in 2009 and was part of the under-18, Under-21 and Under-23 team but failed to make a senior appearance for them. It was his time at Mainz that shaped his career as he worked his way up the ranks there before making a move to Liverpool.
A lot was expected from him and Jurgen Klopp fancied him but the German was widely berated for his mistakes and although he made some great saves, Liverpool knew they needed someone better to compete with the best. Kauris currently plays for Turkish team Besiktas on loan from Liverpool.
#3. Roque Santa Cruz
Younger footballing fans might not know who Roque Santa Cruz is or just how good he was back in the day, especially during his time at Bayern Munich and his first season at Blackburn Rovers, following which he joined Manchester City. The Paraguayan spent 8 successful years with Bayern where he won 5 league titles, 4 domestic cups, and a Champions League as well.
After 2 years with Blackburn, he moved to Manchester City for around £17.5 million and his time at the club was nothing short of a horror show. He played just one full season at the club where he managed just 4 goals and was sent out on loan thrice before eventually leaving them in 2013.
Since leaving Manchester City, Santa Cruz has gone to play for Malaga, Cruz Alves and at 38 he is still showing no signs of stopping as he is currently playing for Olimpia, the club where it all started for him.
#4 Jerome Boateng
Jerome Boateng was a part of the Roberto Mancini signings at the start of the 2010/11 season which saw Manchester City sign the likes of David Silva, Yaya Toure, Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko, and James Milner. A lot was expected from these players and all of them did deliver including Boateng, however, the German decided to leave after just one season.
Given the enormous success he experienced at Bayern Munich since joining them in 2011, people tend to forget that he played for Manchester City. The defender had a decent season at Manchester City having played 24 games and also won the FA Cup with them.
However, after hearing Bayern Munich were interested in him, Boateng felt he would have a greater chance of being selected for his national team if he moved back to Germany. That, along with the fact that he was forced to play at right-back, instead of his favored center-back position under Mancini saw him wanting to depart.
#5 Stefan Savic
Stefan Savic made a name for himself at Partizan Belgrade where he played a crucial role in helping them win the double in his very first season at the club. This one season in Serbia was more than enough to earn him a move to Manchester City the following season.
However, like Boateng, Savic decided to leave the club after just one season, or rather he was forced to leave the club as Manchester City offered him to Fiorentina as an exchange deal for Matija Nastasic. The Montenegrin left City with a total of 21 appearances as they went on to win the league that season.
However, since leaving them Savic has just got better and better and his time at Manchester City is not even remembered at this point.
The defender spent 3 years with the Italian club and played a crucial role for them each season helping them finish 4th every year and he eventually moved to Atletico Madrid and this helped him become the first Montenegrin footballer to play in the Champions League final in the 21st century.
