5 worst Manchester City signings after Abu Dhabi takeover

#3 Jack Rodwell

Manchester City v Norwich City - Premier League

Following Manchester City's Premier League triumph in the 2011-12 season, they were looking for a midfielder in the summer of 2012. Everton's Jack Rodwell provided some impressive performances and was therefore signed by the Cityzens.

Rodwell had a spark about himself in midfield which brought a lot of energy to the pitch. He was sharp, good at tackling and understanding the game. Unfortunately, a hamstring injury in his first season with Manchester City sidelined him for two months. He made 11 Premier League appearances in his first season.

The following season, his chances only got more limited with the arrival of Fernandinho. With the likes of Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri, David Silva and others already present, Rodwell struggled with game time in his second season at Manchester City. It never made sense for City to sign him. The Englishman left the club for Sunderland in 2014.

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#2 Eliaquim Mangala

Watford v Manchester City - Premier League

Eliaquim Mangala joined Portuguese side Porto in 2011. He impressed Manchester City with his performances there and a move was almost done in the winter transfer window in 2012. But due to Porto's high valuation of the defender, the deal did not go through.

Manchester City were eventually successful in signing the Frenchman in the summer of 2012 for a hefty fee of £42 million, making him the most expensive defender in British transfer history back then.

With all the hype around him, Mangala did himself no favors by being reckless and unnecessarily aggressive in the Premier League. Despite then Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini giving him a decent number of chances, the former Porto defender failed to settle down and justify his big-money move.

The French centre-back was sent on loan to Valencia and Everton respectively for the next two seasons before joining Valencia as a free agent in 2019. Given his transfer fee, it was a big loss for Manchester City.

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#1 Wilfried Bony

Manchester City FC v Sevilla FC - UEFA Champions League

Wilfried Bony made his name while playing for Swansea City in the Premier League from 2013 to 2015. In those two seasons, he scored 25 league goals in 54 appearances.

Seeing this, Manchester City signed the Ivorian striker in the winter of 2015. He was signed to play as a backup to Sergio Aguero. It was a surprising decision by Bony given that he could have played on a regular basis at Swansea City.

But given the temptation to play for the developing Manchester City lured the former Vitesse striker to the Etihad. The transfer fee for Bony was around £28 million, making him the most expensive African footballers at the time. As expected, the Ivorian struggled to get game time and managed to start only 15 games in two seasons with the Cityzens.

With the arrival of Pep Guardiola in 2016, Bony was loaned out to Stoke City. At the end of his season-long loan, he was sold back to Swansea City. The signing of Wilfried Bony for Manchester City was an utter waste of time, money and energy for all the parties involved.