Barcelona's coach Josep Guardiola (R) celebrates with Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi after the Champions League semi-final second leg football match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Camp Nou
Pep Guardiola has missed out on several transfers that could have changed Manchester City's trajectory
Teetering Manchester City are desperate for solutions in light of their historic poor run of form that's put Pep Guardiola's future in sudden doubt.
The club has had no issues in solving such problems in the past, building one of the most fearsome squads to ever play football. But the fixes aren't as obvious in the present day, considering they already have a sea of stars and the man many consider to be the best coach of all time.
It can be easier said than done recruiting that perfect acquisition, too, as City know all too well. Even Guardiola has been turned down at the Etihad helm in years gone by, though City have more often than not had an ace up their sleeve as backup.
But with City sat seventh in the Premier League right now, out of the Carabao Cup and struggling in the Champions League too, Guardiola is under mounting pressure just one month after signing a new contract. With that in mind, Mirror Football takes a trip down memory lane to examine four would-be City stars who ended up going down different routes – and we look at how things panned out for both parties in the aftermath.
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Alexis Sanchez
It was towards the end of Alexis Sanchez's Arsenal career that talk sprouted of a possible reunion with Guardiola in Manchester. The pair had worked together for a single season at Barcelona (Guardiola's last at the club) and were first touted to join back up in the summer of 2017, then again in January 2018.
However, Pep confirmed in that winter transfer window that City didn't follow through because Sanchez's signing could have led to instability in the dressing room. Sergio Aguero was the top earner at City at the time, while Kevin De Bruyne was due a pay increase, and Sanchez would have arrived as the new salary leader on around £250,000 a week.
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"I respect that decision and I move forward and look for another solution because the stability of the club is the most important thing," Guardiola said at the time. "Normally we try to be stable with the wages of the players because I think it is good for the team and stability of the club."
Sanchez - who is now back at Udinese - did move to Manchester in January 2018 but joined rivals United instead, switching places with Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The high-profile move, though, is widely regarded as one of United's worst signings from the 21st century, and the Chilean was on the move again 18 months later, joining Inter Milan on loan before leaving for free the following year.
City, meanwhile, promoted a local lad by the name of Phil Foden to their senior squad shortly after. And they also completed the signing of one Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City – a winger alternative who went on to win every trophy available during his time at City.
Lionel Messi
Guardiola was unable to sanction a Man City reunion with Lionel Messi (
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
Ever the Golden Goose when speaking of potential Guardiola signings, City have rarely been far from rumours of a potential Lionel Messi reunion over the past eight-and-a-half years. However, speculation reached fever pitch when it became apparent the World Cup-winner was in fact parting ways with his beloved Barca in 2021.
It was in fact one year prior to that the Argentinian reportedly entered talks with City after handing in a transfer request at the Camp Nou. Chatter of a move first emerged when Guardiola first joined in 2016, but years would pass before the rumours seemed real.
Messi and Guardiola did reportedly meet face to face in the summer of 2020, according to Marti Perarnau's claims in 'The Pep Revolution'. It's suggested Sergio Aguero received a text from his international team-mate asking about the tactician's contract situation, but despite chatting at Guardiola's home the following day, no transfer ever materialised.
Upon leaving Barca, Messi ended up spending two unremarkable seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, where his two Ligue 1 title wins were nothing outside the norm. He later joined Inter Miami in 2023, the same year Guardiola's City lifted the treble – though one could argue a maiden Champions League title might have come far sooner had Messi joined.
Harry Maguire
The Harry Maguire of today doesn't boast the same reputation compared to when he left Leicester
(
Image:
Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
Probably the least contentious call on this list in that City appeared to dodge a mightily expensive bullet in Harry Maguire. Rewind to 2019 when fans will remember the blue and red halves of Manchester being locked in an £80million battle for the Leicester City man, who ended up moving to Old Trafford as United's second-most expensive signing of all time.
But it wasn't long before that price-tag came back to bite the Red Devils, and despite eventually becoming club captain, his on-field performances (and seemingly his confidence) have broken down at times. He's shown glimpses of greatness in defence at times, but there are few who would seriously argue the player has backed up his cost – though Guardiola was a serious fan.
"Yeah. Maguire is an excellent, top-class player," he said after beating Liverpool to lift the 2019 Community Shield. "We were interested, but we could not afford it. United afford it. He's an excellent player, national team too, he had an incredible World Cup.
"He's strong in the air, good with the ball, the build-up, he drives with the ball, he's fast, so fast. He has all the qualities. Congratulations to United for this signature."
City ended up promoting Eric Garcia from their reserves that summer, though it was the 2019 signings of Rodri and Joao Cancelo that truly aided their defence. It was another year before Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake arrived as centre-back reinforcements, with the former named City and FWA Player of the Year in his first season.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane was believed to be close to joining City in 2021 (
Image:
PA) Don't Miss
The summer of 2021 almost ended up being a blockbuster year if you were a City fan, with Harry Kane mooted alongside Messi as a potential arrival. The club ended up signing neither, not that it truly harmed their bulging trophy cabinet in the seasons that immediately followed.
But there was a brief time when Kane looked almost likely given the usually reserved Guardiola was willing to comment publicly. And the Spaniard made it his mission to place all the pressure on Spurs as he sought to follow up the £100m signing of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa with another major England arrival.
"He’s a player for Tottenham Hotspur. If Tottenham don’t want to negotiate, it’s finished. If they are open to negotiate, I think not just Man City but many clubs in the world want to try to sign him – we are not an exception – but it depends on Tottenham," said Guardiola.
"It’s different from Jack. Jack had a release clause and he is different. Harry Kane is an exceptional, extraordinary striker – no doubts about that, of course we are interested – but he is a Tottenham player and, if they don’t want to negotiate, there is nothing more to say. If they want to, we will try."
City missed out on Kane and opted to sign no striker that summer, though they did agree to sign Julian Alvarez just six months later (though he stayed on loan at River Plate until July 2022). It was also in 2022 that a 22-year-old Erling Haaland arrived for a third of what Kane would have cost – and the rest is history with his goals record since.
While Alvarez impressed for City as a back-up to Haaland, he was never truly happy with playing second fiddle to the Norwegian and left this summer to join Atletico Madrid. Kane, meanwhile, has destroyed the Bundesliga (and clubs around Europe) ever since finally leaving Spurs to join Bayern Munich. Although that allusive first trophy of his professional career still, somehow, evades him.
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