MY ACCOUNT
Few clubs have had such a varied Premier League history as Manchester City — but the Citizens are now established among the division’s elite.
City have twice been relegated from the top flight since the 1992 rebrand — and even sunk as low as Division Two in 1998.
But under their current Abu Dhabi ownership, they have set their sights much higher.
So who are the legends that have made Manchester City the club they are today?
Vincent Kompany
Legend status can be achieved in a variety of ways. Vincent Kompany’s is secure thanks to his football ability and his affinity with the city. He even met his future wife Carla while living there.
Signed from Hamburg as a versatile defensive midfielder in August 2008, Kompany established himself as one of the Premier League’s most dominant centre-backs over the next decade.
Captain of four title-winning sides between 2012 and 2019, he was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame earlier this year as recognition for his contribution to the Citizens.
Cool, calm and composed on the pitch and well spoken off it, Kompany was the ultimate ambassador for his club and city.
Yaya Toure
On his day, no one could get near Yaya Toure. Yet the Ivorian midfielder rarely won the plaudits his performances at the heart of City’s midfield deserved.
Picked up from Barcelona in 2010, Toure arrived at an Etihad Stadium that had yet to see glory in the modern era. He — along with a number of other key signings — quickly changed that, starting with the 2011 FA Cup.
Three Premier League titles and two League Cup wins followed for Toure, who enjoyed eight seasons with the Citizens — including three with older brother Kolo.
A wicked set-piece taker who could run games from midfield on his own, Toure timed his runs into the box to perfection.
Perhaps his most memorable contribution was scoring a decisive brace in a 2-0 victory over Newcastle on the penultimate weekend of the 2011-12 campaign.
Fernandinho
After nine seasons and almost 400 appearances, Fernandinho left Manchester this summer having captained the Citizens to a fifth Premier League title.
That decision caught manager Pep Guardiola by surprise, with the Catalan keen to retain his Brazilian enforcer.
Speaking in 2016, he said: “If a team has three Fernandinhos, they would be champions.
“We have one, but he is fast, he is intelligent, he is strong in the air, he can play several positions.
“When he sees the space he will run there immediately. When you need to make a correction, you just need one player to challenge, and he is there.”
Fernandinho — who paid £4million of his own transfer fee to force a £34m switch from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013 — was recognised as one of the Premier League’s best holding midfielders and undoubtedly leaves a void at the Etihad.
David Silva
City quickly learned why David Silva was held in such high regard by Valencia before his 2010 transfer.
Over the next decade, the diminutive midfield maestro dazzled Premier League defences and fans alike with his deftness of touch, vision and incisive passing.
City’s Player of the Year in 2016-17, Silva was included in three PFA Teams of the Season.
The Spaniard provided 93 top-flight assists before returning to LaLiga in 2020, joining Real Sociedad.
Sergio Aguero
Scorer of the most famous goal in City’s history, it is hard to imagine the Citizens without Sergio Aguero such was the Argentine’s impact on the club he joined from Atletico Madrid in 2011.
He had his biggest moment in 2012, scoring the dramatic final-day goal against QPR to clinch the club’s first Premier League title.
Aguero is also City’s all-time leading scorer after overtaking Eric Brook’s long-standing club record with his 178th goal for the Citizens against Napoli in 2017.
And an emotional Guardiola was full of praise for the legendary striker’s impact when speaking after his final game for the club last year.
He said: “We love him so much.
“He is a special person for all of us. He helped me a lot, he’s so good. We cannot replace him. We cannot.”
In all, Aguero bagged 260 goals for City and it would surely have been more, had injury not often hampered his time in Manchester.
