Pep Guardiola will need to repeat his most drastic transfer window cull to clean up this Manchester City mess, so goodbye to Kyle Walker and Ederson.
Gael Clichy once told of how in his first meeting with his new Manchester City squad, Pep Guardiola told them they were “a team full of fat players”.
That morale boost helped inspire them to a distant third place in the Spaniard’s debut season, which until May will still be the only campaign in Guardiola’s entire managerial career in which he has finished outside the top two in a league campaign. Of course Spurs are the only team to ever finish above a Guardiola team without winning a league title.
But again, that seems only likely to last until the end of 2024/25, as this Manchester City team is something rotten. One win in 10 rotten. Early elimination from a Champions League format specifically designed to prevent such things rotten. Kyle Walker and Ilkay Gundogan have to play every game because it would be inhumane to subject an academy kid to this rotten.
This iteration of Manchester City under Guardiola is not very good.
And the daft sod recently signed a two-year contract extension while subsequently stating this is his last post in club management, so he sort of has to at least live through the first stage of a painful rebuild, much like the one he oversaw in summer 2017 before establishing his Barclays stranglehold.
In that transfer window, with full assessments able to be made of his entire squad, Guardiola sold seven first-team players, released five and loaned out seven, replacing them with a record-shattering spend on mainly defenders to be honest.
It doesn’t half feel like something similarly drastic will be required at the end of this campaign, after Guardiola holds a debrief during which he informs his squad they are “a team full of old players”.
But are there clues in that great cull of summer 2017 which might give us an indication as to how a repeat will go eight years later? Obviously not because that isn’t how it works but we’re here now so let’s carry on.
Summer 2017 sale: Kelechi Iheanacho
Summer 2025 equivalent: James McAtee
There was a time when Iheanacho was proudly flaunted as the most successful graduate from the famed Manchester City academy. The Nigerian scored 14 goals in his debut season under Manuel Pellegrini but the opportunities dried up once Guardiola was appointed, even if Leicester had still seen enough to tempt them into a £25m move before the concept of pure profit was created.
McAtee’s breakthrough career campaign came with Sheffield United in the Championship rather than Manchester City in the Premier League, with Guardiola reluctant to call on the 22-year-old for longer than a few minutes at a time through these struggles. But someone will definitely still pay £25m for the privilege of taking him on.
Summer 2017 sale: Wilfried Bony
Summer 2025 equivalent: Matheus Nunes
It is an inexact comparison and really Manchester City’s squad-building ethos prevents a neat equal being found due to the club’s recent refusal to countenance signing a striker not named Erling Haaland.
But in terms of extravagant and unnecessary spending on a Premier League player who never felt like a particularly natural fit under Guardiola, it feels like Nunes comes close. That he a) has actually played a fair bit this season, and b) probably been one of their better players is one of the more damning indictments of this whole mess.
Summer 2017 sale: Aaron Mooy
Summer 2025 sale: Kalvin Phillips
Easy one, this. Mooy never played for Manchester City while Phillips likely simply wishes he never joined, having been subjected to the “team full of fat players” inspirational chat both publicly and all by himself.
Mooy passed through the multi-club ownership group before making his move to Huddersfield permanent; Phillips will be shuffled along quietly after his own loan spell at a struggling Premier League club.
Summer 2017 sale: Nolito
Summer 2025 sale: Savinho
Fair play to Nolito who came, saw, almost immediately decided he really didn’t fancy it, complained about the weather and language barrier and returned to Spain at the first viable opportunity after becoming one of Guardiola’s first Manchester City signings and a certified Sporcle obstacle.
He did at least score six goals and assist five in his 30 appearances. Savinho would take that, having replicated the number of assists without yet having scored in an increasingly desperate season.
Summer 2017 sale: Fernando
Summer 2025 equivalent: Mateo Kovacic
Does anyone still remember Fernando? Not many players can have made more than 100 appearances for Manchester City in the current era without ending up with a league title medal at some point; even Jack Rodwell has one stowed away somewhere.
Kovacic obviously claimed the first of his career last season but he does feel at least similar in flagging-30-year-old-midfielder vibes.
Summer 2017 exits: Aleksandar Kolarov, Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy
Summer 2025 equivalent: Kyle Walker if no-one else
With almost 900 combined Manchester City games to their name, the great full-back exodus of summer 2017 was stunning at the time. Guardiola had identified those positions as a key problem and noted that the solution was to cut all the 30-something options he had at his disposal before throwing money at replacements.
Among those was Walker, for whom the tables have now turned. The 34-year-old has not been at the peak of his powers for a while but the speed of his decline and transition into a captain whose mere presence in the team has become incredibly harmful has been startling.
That contract extension feels like one of the bigger transfer mistakes in what is now a remarkably long list for Manchester City. The defence in particularly needs some extensive work.
Summer 2017 sale: Samir Nasri
Summer 2025 equivalent: Bernardo Silva
Guardiola has been a man of his word since vowing never to sell Bernardo Silva in February 2018. Almost every year since there has been speculation of homesickness or a desire to try something new, as well as links with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, but there he remains as one of the Spaniard’s most trusted players.
Nasri feels like a fair resemblance in terms of a slight but ludicrously talented forward and title winner whose stock has nevertheless fallen. It does, however, seem unlikely that Silva has booked himself in for a Drip Doctors visit.
Summer 2017 exit: Joe Hart
Summer 2025 equivalent: Ederson
The struggles of Claudio Bravo meant Guardiola was not immediately vindicated but the decision to phase out Hart was never really wrong despite the widespread criticism of the treatment received by an England international whose main virtue had become fronting up post-match.
It told a story that Hart’s very public availability only actually translated into two loans before a £3.5m transfer. Attempts to rehabilitate his playing career never really worked at Torino or West Ham but Burnley were happy to bring him in well after everyone else forgot he was still at the Etihad.
Ederson eventually made the spot his own but after six titles and three Golden Gloves awards in eight seasons it has turned sour. Manchester City spent much of the summer persuading the Brazilian to stay and might well wish they hadn’t bothered.
Summer 2017 exit: Willy Caballero
Summer 2025 exit: Scott Carson
It’s upsetting just thinking about it.