Manchester Metropolis have had some severely particular gamers down the years – and an important a lot of them have been signed from elsewhere.
From integral figures within the membership’s earliest glories, to the superstars of their mega-rich fashionable period, Maine Street and the Etihad Stadium have seen terrific expertise aplenty.
With out additional ado, listed here are Metropolis’s greatest signings ever…
33. Paul Dickov
Ceaselessly a hero at Manchester Metropolis for his function within the 1999 Second Division play-off ultimate – the place his Ninety fifth-minute equaliser took the sport to additional time, simply eight minutes after Joe Royle’s aspect had trailed 2-0 to Gillingham.
Signed from Arsenal in 1996, Dickov truly missed his penalty within the shootout, however Metropolis acquired the job performed at Wembley – earlier than the 10-time Scotland striker helped them to second place within the First Division the next season, incomes promotion again to the Premier League.
32. Jack Grealish
After changing into the most costly British participant of all time by finishing a £100m transfer from Aston Villa in 2021, Jack Grealish took season or so to get going at Manchester Metropolis.
However the England worldwide would assert himself as probably the greatest and most entertaining wingers in world soccer, starring in Metropolis’s historic treble triumph of 2022/23.
31. Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel Jesus finally left Manchester Metropolis in the hunt for higher first-team alternatives at Arsenal – however the Brazilian ahead’s report in sky blue was higher than many in all probability realise.
A £27m arrival from Palmeiras in January 2017, Jesus scored persistently all through his five-year Metropolis profession, racking up 58 Premier League targets at a median of 0.56/90 – and successful 4 titles beneath Pep Guardiola.
30. Dennis Tueart
A 1975/76 League Cup winner with Manchester Metropolis, left winger Dennis Tueart joined from Sunderland in 1974 – and went on to make one of the best a part of 300 appearances for Metropolis throughout two spells, both aspect of a stint with iconic NASL outfit the New York Cosmos.
Capped six occasions by England, Tueart helped Metropolis to the ultimate of the 1980/81 FA Cup ultimate after returning to the membership.
29. Riyad Mahrez
A serious protagonist in Leicester Metropolis’s fairytale 2015/16 Premier League title success – successful that season’s PFA Gamers’ and Followers’ Participant of the Yr awards – Riyad Mahrez joined Manchester Metropolis in 2018 for £60m, then a report for an African participant.
And the Algerian wideman greater than justified his price ticket, registering 77 Premier League purpose contributions in 5 campaigns – earlier than leaving Metropolis on a excessive as a 2022/23 treble winner.
28. Pablo Zabaleta
An integral participant for Manchester Metropolis all through their transition from contenders to dominant drive, Pablo Zabaleta amassed 333 appearances throughout a nine-year keep on the Etihad Stadium.
Signed from Espanyol in the summertime of 2008, the fabulously constant Argentine right-back performed beneath 4 Metropolis managers – Mark Hughes, Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola – successful two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups.
27. Denis Regulation
Not many gamers loved success on either side of the Manchester divide – however Denis Regulation is one in every of them, scoring 37 targets in 79 appearances throughout two spells with Manchester Metropolis.
One of many best strikers of all time, the Lawman broke the British switch report when he arrived from Huddersfield City in March 1960 – and he went on to search out the web 19 occasions within the First Division throughout his first full marketing campaign at Maine Street.
26. Brian Kidd
Once more, not many have performed it – however Brian Kidd is one other to have made a huge impact at each Manchester United and Manchester Metropolis, becoming a member of the latter from Arsenal in 1976 (having joined the Gunners from United two years earlier).
A pure goalscorer, Kidd was on the right track 44 occasions in 98 appearances for Metropolis, discovering the web 3 times towards United in the course of the 1977/78 marketing campaign.
He later returned to the membership as a coach on a number of events, working beneath Sven-Goran Eriksson, Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola.
25. Joe Hart
One among Manchester Metropolis’s longest-serving gamers of the Premier League period, Joe Hart joined from Shrewsbury City in 2006 and was primary goalkeeper by 2008.
The England worldwide stored maintain of that spot for eight years and was ever current within the Premier League throughout the 2010/11, 2011/12 – when he made the PFA Group of the Yr as Metropolis clinched their very first Premier League title – and 2012/13 campaigns.
24. Edin Dzeko
Scorer of the ‘forgotten’ purpose in that final-day victory over QPR in 2012, Edin Dzeko received two Premier League titles with Manchester Metropolis, discovering the web 50 occasions within the competitors.
Signed from Wolfsburg for £27m in January 2011, the Bosnia-Herzegovina nice equalised within the 92nd minute of the historic aforementioned recreation, setting the stage for Sergio Aguero to seal Metropolis’s first league title in 44 years.
23. Georgi Kinkladze
Iconic Georgian attacking midfielder Georgi Kinkladze delighted Manchester Metropolis followers together with his dazzling dribbling capability and knack for scoring spectacular targets.
Introduced in from Dinamo Tbilisi in the summertime of 1995, Kinkladze was voted Metropolis’s Participant of the Season in 1996 and 1997 – and he twice received the BBC’s Purpose of the Month ballot, most notably for his mazy run followed by deft chip against Southampton.
22. Carlos Tevez
After signing Carlos Tevez from West Ham following his mortgage spell at Manchester United, Manchester Metropolis simply could not resist winding up their native rivals: they erected that now iconic ‘Welcome to Manchester’ billboard that includes the tenacious Argentine ahead.
It may need backfired – but it surely did not: Tevez scored 73 targets in 4 seasons at Metropolis, scooping their 2009/10 Supporters’ and Gamers’ Participant of the Yr awards; then the Premier League Golden Boot in 2010/11, together with the FA Cup as captain; then the Premier League title in 2011/12.
21. Bernardo Silva
A extremely versatile attacking midfielder, Bernardo Silva was one in every of Pep Guardiola’s first Manchester Metropolis signings, becoming a member of from Monaco for £43.5m in July 2017.
Brilliantly unselfish, the Portuguese playmaker was named Metropolis’s 2018/19 Participant of the Yr – whereas in November 2021, he produced a shocking efficiency in his aspect’s Champions League victory over PSG, finishing 47 passes out of 47 and establishing the successful purpose.
20. Ken Barnes
Legendary half-back Ken Barnes was a key member of the Manchester Metropolis aspect which received the 1955/56 FA Cup – having completed as runners-up the season earlier than.
Picked up from non-League Stafford Rangers for the princely sum of £750 in 1950, Barnes went on to make virtually 300 appearances for Metropolis – the place he turned skipper in 1957.
19. Billy Meredith
An early soccer celebrity, Billy Meredith goes down as the final word instance of doing it for each Manchester golf equipment, that includes over 300 occasions for Manchester Metropolis and Manchester United.
The Welsh exterior ahead had two spells on the blue half of Manchester, first arriving at Maine Street from Chirk AAA in 1894.
He starred in Metropolis’s 1898/89 Second Division title success and 1903/04 FA Cup triumph, among the many membership’s very first honours.
18. Peter Doherty
Legendary inside-left Peter Doherty was born in Lancashire however started his profession in Northern Eire, returning to England to hitch Blackpool in 1933 – then transferring onto Manchester Metropolis three years later.
And through his time at Maine Street, he established himself as one in every of Metropolis’s most interesting gamers of all time, bagging 79 targets in 130 video games – together with 30 en path to the 1936/37 First Division title.
17. Rodri
In his time at Manchester Metropolis, Rodri established himself as probably the greatest defensive midfielders on the planet, and proved completely pivotal to the 2022/23 treble win (not least as a result of he scored the successful purpose towards Inter Milan within the Champions League ultimate).
Metropolis activated the Spain star’s £62.6m launch clause to signal him from Atletico Madrid in 2019, and it was cash very effectively spent certainly.
Rodri’s 2022/23 Champions Leaguer shows noticed him named the competitors’s Participant of the Season.
16. John Stones
John Stones deserves to be thought-about amongst England’s greatest ever defenders – however the former Everton and Barnsley man did excess of merely defend after Pep Guardiola took over at Manchester Metropolis and really remodeled him.
Already glorious with the ball at his ft – therefore his attraction to Guardiola (though Manuel Pellegrini was the Metropolis boss who signed in 2016) – the 2022/23 season noticed Stones turn out to be an elite holding midfielder, taking part in a vital half in his crew’s treble triumph.
15. Kyle Walker
One other early Pep Guardiola acquisition, Kyle Walker joined Manchester Metropolis from Tottenham in 2017 – and rapidly cemented his standing as probably the greatest right-backs on the planet.
Among the many quickest gamers on the planet even a good means into his 30s, the England common proved his versatility by working equally adeptly in a again three or 4 – and he was a five-time Premier League champion inside six years of arriving on the Etihad Stadium.
14. Eric Brook
All-time England and Manchester Metropolis nice Eric Brook arrived from Barnsley in 1928 – and spent the remainder of his profession in Metropolis blue, with the outbreak of World Conflict II agonisingly leaving him one in need of 500 appearances for the membership.
However within the 499 video games he did play for Metropolis, the surface left made an infinite influence: he reached double figures for targets in 10 totally different campaigns, starring within the 1933/34 FA Cup victory and 1936/37 First Division title win.
13. Bert Trautmann
It is one of the crucial heroic tales in soccer historical past: Manchester Metropolis goalkeeper Bert Trautmann taking part in on with a damaged neck to drag off some important saves to make sure his crew received the 1956 FA Cup ultimate.
Captured by the British on the Western Entrance whereas preventing for Germany throughout World Conflict II and brought as a prisoner of conflict, Trautmann began out with St Helens City – the place he was noticed by Metropolis in 1949, occurring to make 545 appearances for them.
His extraordinary life was chronicled in 2018 biopic The Keeper.
12. Tony E-book
Iconic Manchester Metropolis skipper of the late 60s and early 70s, Tony E-book captained the membership to glory within the First Division, FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup – metropolis’s first European honour.
Signed from Plymouth Argyle for £17,000 in 1966, the right-back managed Metropolis between 1974 and 1979, main them to League Cup success in 1975/76 – earlier than returning for transient caretaker stints in 1989 and 1993.
In 1969, he was voted joint winner of the celebrated FWA Soccer of the Yr award.
11. Ederson
One among Pep Guardiola’s first huge modifications as Manchester Metropolis supervisor was to interchange present primary Claudio Bravo with a extra competent ball-playing goalkeeper – and he definitely acquired that in Ederson, a £35m signing from Benfica.
For Guardiola’s perennial Premier League champions, the Brazilian would show himself to be probably the greatest ‘keepers on the planet – and possibly the greatest when it comes to his passing capability, prompting (maybe barely extreme) ideas that he may do a job as an outfield participant.
10. Erling Haaland
He got here; he scored; he conquered the Premier League single-season targets report. In his first marketing campaign after becoming a member of Manchester Metropolis from Borussia Dortmund, Erling Haaland effectively and really lived as much as his Terminator nickname by breaking Andy Cole and Alan Shearer’s earlier better of 34, netting 36 occasions in 35 video games.
The scarily prolific Norwegian was bagged 52 targets in 53 video games in all competitions throughout his first season as a Metropolis participant, accounting for greater than a 3rd of his crew’s complete.
9. Mike Summerbee
A part of the famed Bell-Lee-Summerbee trio of the late 60s and early 70s, Mike Summerbee is an undisputed Manchester Metropolis legend – who featured over 450 occasions for the membership.
Signed from Swindon City in 1965, the midfielder – who earned eight England caps – received Second and First Division titles with Metropolis, in addition to the FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup.
Summerbee additionally starred in cult soccer movie Escape to Victory alongside the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine and Pele.
8. Fernandinho
Throughout a glittering nine-year spell on the Etihad Stadium, Fernandinho turned a Manchester Metropolis legend – having joined from Shakhtar Donetsk for £34m in the summertime of 2013.
Among the many greatest defensive midfielders of the Premier League period, the battling Brazilian received 5 top-flight titles and 6 FA Cups with Metropolis – who he captained between 2020 and his departure in 2022.
Praised by Pep Guardiola for having the ability to “do all the pieces”, Fernandinho additionally possessed a ferocious long-range shot.
7. Yaya Toure
One of many most interesting African gamers of all time, Yaya Toure’s eight years at Manchester Metropolis have been crammed with silverware and memorable moments.
These moments included loads of targets – of which he scored 20 within the 2013/14 Premier League title-winning marketing campaign alone, changing into one of many only a few midfielders to achieve that mark in a single season within the competitors.’
Toure made the PFA Group of the Yr twice throughout his time with Metropolis, successful the membership’s 2013/14 Participant of the Yr award.
6. Vincent Kompany
Vincent Kompany joined Manchester Metropolis from Hamburg in 2008 and, over the following 11 years, went on to emphatically guarantee legendary standing on the Etihad Stadium.
Membership captain between 2010 and 2018, the formidable Belgian centre-back lifted 4 League Cups, two FA Cups and 4 Premier League titles with Metropolis.
And the final of these titles was sealed in completely spectacular style as Kompany – not precisely famend for his goalscoring prowess – unleashed a 25-yard thunderbolt against Leicester to take his crew prime of the desk with one recreation of the season remaining.
5. Francis Lee
Starring in the identical extremely profitable aspect as Colin Bell and Mike Summerbee, Francis Lee is one in every of Manchester Metropolis’s all-time main goalscorers, discovering the web 148 occasions between 1967 and 1974.
Later Metropolis chairman, Lee – who scored 10 targets in 27 caps for England – joined Joe Mercer’s Metropolis from Bolton Wanderers in a deal value £60,000, occurring to win 4 main honours with the membership – amongst them the 1967/68 First Division title and 1969/70 Cup Winners’ Cup.
4. Kevin De Bruyne
Few Premier League gamers have proved their doubters unsuitable extra emphatically than Kevin De Bruyne – who had flopped at Chelsea however would do completely something however at Manchester Metropolis.
The Belgian’s £55m arrival from Wolfsburg in 2015 made him the second-most costly signing ever by a British membership – and Metropolis wouldn’t remorse spending a single penny on that switch: KDB‘s supreme string-pulling performances quickly marked him out as one of many best playmakers of all time.
Within the 2019/20 season, De Bruyne registered 20 Premier League assists – equalling Thierry Henry’s report set 17 years earlier.
3. Sergio Aguero
“AGUUUEEEROOOOOO!”
Undoubtedly one of many best strikers of the Premier League period – and one of the crucial prolific goalscorers within the historical past of the competitors, Sergio Aguero would have been a Manchester Metropolis legend even with out that second.
However, regardless of discovering the web 260 occasions for Metropolis in all, the scientific Argentine marksman – who arrived from Atletico Madrid in 2011 – will at all times be remembered above all else for his 94th-minute winner towards QPR to grab the Premier League title away from Manchester United on the ultimate day of the 2011/12 season.
2. Colin Bell
In some ways, Colin Bell was the primary man of the Bell-Lee-Summerbee trio which mixed to encourage Manchester Metropolis to such excellent success in the course of the late 60s and early 70s.
Born within the Durham village of Hesleden, Bell began out Bury earlier than transferring onto Metropolis in 1966 – when he instantly helped them to the Second Division title.
Two years later, the midfielder – who performed for England on the 1970 World Cup – was instrumental in Metropolis’s First Division title victory, successful Participant of the Yr, earlier than starring in FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup triumphs.
1. David Silva
No participant proved extra pivotal in remodeling Manchester Metropolis’s fortunes in the course of the period of Abu Dhabi possession than Spanish playmaking wizard David Silva, unquestionably an all-time Premier League nice.
Introduced in from Valencia in the summertime of 2010, having simply helped Spain to their maiden World Cup triumph, Silva spent 10 wonderful years with Metropolis, successful 4 Premier League titles and scoring some really phenomenal targets (together with his very first for the club towards Blackpool).
In 2021, a 12 months after leaving Metropolis, he was honoured with a statue exterior the Etihad Stadium – alongside one in every of former teammate Vincent Kompany.