Where are they now? The first 10 Man City players sold by Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City in the summer of 2016 and he quickly shook things up by overhauling the side in the transfer window.

Where are they now? The first 10 Man City players sold by Pep Guardiola

After going trophyless in his debut season in Manchester, the silverware soon started to flood in from his second season onwards.

We’ve taken a closer look at the first 10 Man City players who were sold by Guardiola and have checked out what they are up to nowadays.

Note: for the purposes of this article, we have not included players who were sold while in the Elite Development Squad and Academy.

Willy Caballero

After making 27 appearances under Guardiola and battling with Claudio Bravo for the number one spot, Caballero was let go on a free transfer in the summer of 2017.

He went on to spend the next six years in the Premier League as a backup goalkeeper for Chelsea and Southampton before hanging up his gloves in 2023 at the age of 41.

The Argentinian has since pursued a coaching career and is now part of Enzo Maresca’s coaching staff at Chelsea.

Gael Clichy

The French full-back made 39 appearances under Guardiola during 2016-17 but was released at the end of the season following his contract expiring.

He spent the final years of his career playing in Turkey and Switzerland before he announced his retirement from the game in the summer of 2023.

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These days the 39-year-old works as the assistant manager of the France national under-21 team.

Jesus Navas

Still going strong at the ripe old age of 38, Navas still has some life left in him yet.

The experienced full-back continues to be a useful asset for Sevilla and is mostly used as an impact substitute these days. So far this season, he’s featured in 11 of Sevilla’s 13 league matches.

Bacary Sagna

After leaving City, Sagna enjoyed shot spells with Benevento and Montreal Impact before announcing his retirement in January 2020.

The former full-back has since gone into business and is now a partner with French backpack company Gravipack. Sagna has reportedly pumped £220,000 of his own money into the company that sell ‘weightless rucksacks’ for £200.

Pablo Zabaleta

After spending one year working under Guardiola, Zabaleta made the switch to West Ham in 2017 upon his contract with City expiring.

The full-back spent three years with the Hammers and after doing some punditry work, the 39-year-old has since gone into coaching.

He now works as the assistant manager of Albania where he works alongside Sylvinho, who he briefly played alongside at Man City.

Bruno Zuculini

The Argentine midfielder never made an appearance under Guardiola as he spent the majority of his Man City career out on loan.

He was eventually sold in July 2017 when Hellas Verona came in with a £1.2million offer for the central midfielder.

Then following a short spell in Italy, he returned to Argentina and spent his peak years with River Plate before joining Racing Club earlier this year.

Nolito

After being signed by Guardiola, it wasn’t long until Nolito was heading for the exit door as he only lasted a year in Manchester.

He spent the final years of his career playing in Spain and following a stint with Ibiza FC, he called it quits on his professional career in September last year.

“He gave me the opportunity to debut for FC Barcelona’s first team and repeated the gesture in Manchester,” Nolito told City Xtra when discussing Guardiola.

“He called me and placed his trust in me. Over the years, I have developed a profound affection for him and I will be eternally grateful for everything he did for me. I wish him nothing but the best.”

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Aleksandar Kolarov

Following a seven-year stint at Man City, Guardiola cashed in on Kolarov in the summer of 2017 when Roma came calling.

The Serbian star then spent the last five years of his career in Italy playing for Roma and Inter Milan, before he retired from the game in 2022.

Like a handful of other players on this list, Kolarov has also pursued a coaching career in his post-playing days. In November this year, the 39-year-old became the new Serbia U21 head coach.

Kelechi Iheanacho

Once a prolific super-sub for City, Guardiola sold the Nigerian forward in 2017 for £25million when Leicester City came calling.

The 28-year-old went on to spend the next seven years with the Foxes where he scored 61 goals in 232 appearances.

After playing a role in their promotion from the Championship last season, he made the switch to Sevilla over the summer on a free transfer.

Fernando

Despite only working under Guardiola for one season at City, it’s clear that the Spanish coach had a profound impact on Fernando’s career.

“He is a coach that teaches you good things, in particular you have to be focused on training and not only on matches,” Fernando told Goal.

“At training, you can get many good things from him if you pay attention and do it well. Details are really important for him.”

After enjoying his peak years in Europe, the 37-year-old has since returned to Brazil and now plays for Internacional.


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