The Blues agreed an initial season-long loan with Roma for Edin’s services, but this became permanent a few months into the deal and the Bosnian Diamond ended his time in Manchester having scored 72 goals in 189 matches.
After six seasons with Roma, he joined Inter Milan, then Fenerbahce followed by Fiorentina and now Schalke 04.
In 2022, during a rendition of ‘Hey Jude’ at Oktoberfest in Germany, Edin spontaneously began singing ‘City’ to the nah-nah-nah-nah part of The Beatles’ classic.
It was filmed, and of course, the Blues’ support quickly discovered the clip.
“Obviously I know the song from my City days and especially when we won the Premier League for the first time, it was something everyone was singing,” recalled Edin.
“When I heard the song being played at the Oktoberfest, it was just a spontaneous reaction to shout ‘City!’ instead of ‘Hey Jude’. It was from the heart, and it just came out of me without even thinking.
“At that time (in 2022), I didn’t know that the City fans still sang my name! It’s great to know and hopefully it will continue for many years to come. It’s a great feeling and it means that I did some good things for the club – it makes me proud that the City fans haven’t forgotten me.
“I always had a good relationship with them and having been at City for almost five years, it’s not easy to forget the things we did during that time.
“When you’re at a club, you are training and playing, and everything is going on around you, and you don’t realise how connected you are and how much you love the club – that’s how I felt after I left.
“Since I left, I follow every City game in every competition and it’s just natural for me because I feel it is still my club, even if I’m not there anymore.”
Now, in his 23rd (!) season as a professional footballer, he has made 916 career appearances and scored 386 goals.
Add 146 starts for Bosnia and a further 72 goals and he can reflect on a magnificent career in years to some.
And now, as he turns 40, everyone at Manchester City wishes Edin a very happy birthday.
No wonder our fans are still singing songs about Edin Dzeko, more than a decade after he left…
Feature: David Clayton