There are very few clubs in Europe who have been involved in as much transfer activity as Premier League giants, Manchester City in the last few years. After Abu Dhabi United Group took over the reigns at Manchester City, they have become a part of England's elite. They have won the English Premier League twice. City are also a regular feature now in the UEFA Champions League and also made it to the semi-finals of the competition last season for the first time.
Since the new owners took over in 2008, the club has spent the most in the transfer market and they have been mighty successful in most cases in building a competitive squad. Though, in some cases, the cash splashed on certain players hasn’t yielded the same results. In most cases, these players have been shown the door from the club and they have not performed at their best since. Here is a list of the players we think had made a mistake in joining Manchester City.
#1 Scott Sinclair
English winger Scott Sinclair joined then English champions Manchester City on a four-year-deal after having two excellent seasons at Swansea City having helped the Swans get into the Premier League as the first Welsh team in history.
Sinclair played a critical part by scoring a hat-trick against Reading in the Championship play-off final at Wembley, which secured qualification into the Premier League. The 27-year-old also scored the Swans' first goal of the Premier division and helped them finish 11th in their first Premier League campaign.
The move to the City was predicted to be a great one for the youngster but he never lived up to expectations as throughout the course of the 2012-13 season, he only started a handful of games and was left on the bench more often than not.
He was loaned out to West Bromwich Albion the season after and has struggled to regain any semblance of form.
#2 Jack Rodwell
Rodwell was considered one of the brightest prospects to come out of the Everton youth a
Jack Rodwell's big money move from Everton to City never worked out for the English midfielder who was a product of the Everton youth system.
He spent 5 years with the Toffees establishing himself as one of the hottest young English midfielders of his generation but he failed to live up to expectations following his move. Rodwell made just 16 appearances for the Citizens over the course of two seasons which were marred by injuries.
He was soon shipped off to Sunderland where he has shown glimpses of his potential.
#3 Samir Nasri
Nasri was never able to replicate his Arsenal form for City
The controversial move of French midfielder Samir Nasir from rivals Arsenal to Manchester City for a transfer fee of £25 million has not been as successful as the player or the club would have hoped.
Nasri came in with a huge reputation after having two brilliant seasons for the Gunners. In the 2009-10 season, the Frenchman made it through to the PFA Team of the Year and he was also nominated for both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards.
The highly talented youngster's career faded out at City, though, after making a pretty decent start. He won the league in his debut season at City. But, performance wise he has been mediocre ever since and has mostly featured from the bench in the past few seasons. New manager, Pep Guardiola, has sent him out on loan to Sevilla on Deadline Day.
#4 Wilfried Bony
Bony was forced to play second fiddle to Aguero
The Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Bony joined Manchester City from Swansea with a transfer fee of £25 million in Jan 2015, after an excellent 2014. He is one of the costliest transfers in the Premier League history for an African player.
Coming off scoring 20 goals for Swansea, it has not been a successful season and a half for Bony as most of his appearances have come in cup games and as a substitute playing second fiddle to Sergio Aguero. He has just managed to score 6 goals for City. He has joined Stoke City on a season-long loan this season.
#5 Eliaquim Mangala
Mangala has made a move to Valencia on Deadline Day
The French centre back's £31.8 million transfer move from FC Porto to Manchester City in 2014 is one of the worst transfers in the club's history. The 25-year-old joined City with a reputation for being one of the young centre-backs in the world. Unfortunately, the Frenchman has struggled in adapting to the Premier League.
On his debut, Mangala went off to a very good start with his performance against Chelsea in a 1-1 draw. But a week later he scored an own goal and conceded a penalty versus Hull City. Things have gone downhill from there with him being relegated to the bench. He has not won the trust of new manager Pep Guardiola and was loaned out to Valencia.
