Manchester City‘s transfer business in the summer of 2015 didn’t win them the Premier League title – but it did lay the foundations for the Pep Guardiola era.
Still under the management of Manuel Pellegrini, the club made five signings and four of them turned out to be excellent servants in the City dynasty of the last decade.
We’ve taken a closer look at every player the Blues signed 10 years ago and where they’re at now.
Raheem Sterling
Costing City an eye-watering £49million at the time in 2015, Sterling’s move to the Etihad from Liverpool was both protracted and controversial.
But he shone brightly for the remainder of the 2010s, his goals key to them winning back-to-back league titles in 2018 and 2019.
He eventually left for Chelsea in 2022 in search of more regular game time. That has not gone well and Sterling is unwanted at Stamford Bridge following a forgettable loan spell at Arsenal.
Patrick Roberts
City’s scouts had seen enough in Roberts’ form at Fulham and for England’s youth teams to sign him for £12million.
But it was a familiar story of frequent loans away and fleeting opportunities at his parent club.
After more loans away than matches for City, Roberts signed for League One giants Sunderland in January 2o22.
He played a major role in their promotion that year, scoring in the play-offs, and made 44 appearances in 2024-25 as Sunderland finally returned to the Premier League.
If the Wearsiders are to stand any chance of avoiding instant relegation, they’ll need Roberts to be in fine form.
Fabian Delph
After flip-flopping over whether to stay with a declining Aston Villa or join City, Delph eventually took the plunge and joined Pellegrini’s squad for a fee of £8million.
The midfielder played 22 times in City’s Premier League-winning season of 2017-18 but struggled for first-team opportunities the following campaign and joined Everton in 2019.
His time at Goodison Park was marred by injuries and he announced his retirement in September 2022.
Nicolas Otamendi
Signed from Valencia for £28.4million, Otamendi made his fair share of calamitous mistakes at City but was also weirdly effective and you could never take your eyes off him.
The centre-back left for Benfica in 2020 and went on to form part of Argentina’s backline that has won successive Copa Americas and the 2022 World Cup.
Aged 37, Otamendi is still with Benfica today and played at the Club World Cup this summer.
Kevin De Bruyne
De Bruyne’s £56million transfer from Wolfsburg was heavily criticised due to the Belgian failing to make the grade at Chelsea. We’re not naming names, but how wrong they were.
Under Guardiola, De Bruyne has continually unlocked new levels of creativity, influence and ability, with his peak now probably eclipsing that of David Silva’s before him.
Now in his mid-30s, the playmaker stepped up in importance tremendously during his peak and was vital to City’s treble-winning campaign in 2022-23.
His contract expired at the end of the 2024-25 season and the legendary midfielder moved to Serie A champions Napoli with every City fan’s best wishes.
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