Five Man City flops who shone after leaving
Martin Macdonald
- 18 Feb 2022 11:17 CST
- 4 min read
Manchester City have become a European juggernaut over the past 15 years or so ever since their Abu Dhabi-backed takeover.
The club's pursuit of excellence both domestically and in the Champions League has seen them spend billions on some of the best players the club has to offer.
The relentless need for immediate success has seen a massive turnover in players, with a number of stars coming for big money only to leave without much success.
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In some cases, players have proved themselves to be very talented even after leaving Man City, though.
Though not of the players on our list can be considered flops, as such, none of them made an impact at City before going on to better things.
Jadon Sancho
Jadon Sancho cannot be considered a Man City flop, but despite showing plenty of promise he was never given the promotion to the first tea that he desperately desired.
Rightly or wrongly, Man City did not put up an enormous fight when Dortmund came calling to sign Sancho as a teenager.
SInce leaving City, Sancho has developed into one of the most potent wingers on the continent, becoming an assist machine while at the German side.
His big-money return to Manchester United hasn't quite worked out yet, but he has the quality to get back to his best.
Douglas Luiz
Douglas Luiz was a product of the Vasco da Gama academy before making the move to Europe with City in 2017.
Visa issues meant that Luiz was twice loaned out to Granada between 2017 and 2019.
In the end, he failed to make a single league appearance for City before Aston Villa purchased him permanently in 2019.
At Villa, he has evolved into a fine deep-lying midfielder and was one of the first names on the teamsheet under Dean Smith, and continues to be under Steven Gerrard.
Kasper Schmeichel
Kasper Schmeichel's father Peter played for Man City and junior would follow by joining the club's youth ranks in 2002.
The Dane went on a number of loan moves in his City career, including to Darlington, Bury, Falkirk, Cardiff and Coventry.
He would make eight league appearances for City but was never deemed good enough, and quickly fell out of contention for a spot in the squad as the owner money started pouring in.
Schmeichel would leave for Notts County before joining Leeds and then Leicester.
He is now a club legend at Leicester, having helped them win the Premier League for the first time.
Stefan Savic
Man City's pursuit of defensive solidity has seen the club become a bit of a centre-back graveyard over the years.
For every John Stones, Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte, you have a Nicolas Otamendi, Martin Demichelis and Eliaquim Mangala.
Stefan Savic, unfortunately for him, is certainly in that second group as he was poor during his single season in the Premier League.
He would reclaim his form at Fiorentina before earning a move to Atletico.
In Spain, he is a league winner and a trusted defensive lieutenant of Diego Simeone.
Jerome Boateng
Jerome Boateng was an early centre-back acquisition in the Abu Dhabi era at the club and things just did not work out for the German in England.
He was young at the time and struggled to get to grips with the Premier League.
He would certainly show his quality after leaving, though, winning the World Cup with Germany and dozens of trophies with Bayern Munich.
Read more about: Premier League, Man City, Angelino, Douglas Luiz, Jadon Sancho, Kasper Schmeichel, Stefan Savić
