Pep Guardiola's appointment as Manchester City boss in 2016 launched the club into a whole new level of superstardom and changed its trajectory forever. Since then, they have won six Premier League titles, a Champions League, two FA Cups, and a glut of other honours that have helped them become one of English football's powerhouses.
The Etihad Stadium faithful will forever be indebted to their Spanish mastermind for a period of dominance rarely seen in the country. But with his contract set to expire this summer and his future still uncertain, change could be on the horizon sooner than anyone on the blue half of Manchester would have hoped.
Regardless of whether he stays or goes, though, with John Stones calling time on his Man City tenure, this summer will mark a complete turnover from Guardiola's first-ever league lineup in a 2-1 win over Sunderland - leaving Stones as the last remaining survivor of that team.
In many ways, it feels like the end of an era, making now the perfect time to look back and take stock of just how far the Cityzens have come in a competition they've since gone on to surrender just three times in nine years - even if that lineup was no slouch, having previously won titles under his two predecessors anyway.
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Where Every Player in Guardiola's First Premier League Squad Is Now
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
GK: Willy Caballero
Argentine goalkeeper Caballero signed for City in 2014 from Malaga but would make just 48 appearances for the club. He was let go in the summer of 2017 but joined another Premier League team, Chelsea, where he would again act as backup. A reliable presence when called upon, his most recent venture saw him back at Stamford Bridge as Enzo Maresca's assistant manager before departing in January.
RB: Bacary Sagna
The former France international left the club at the end of Guardiola's maiden season, joining Benevento in February 2018 before finishing his career with Montreal Impact in 2019. Bacary Sagna has since moved into coaching and is now head coach of Banaat FC, a women’s team in the UAE.
CB: John Stones
Stones will go down as one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history, even if injuries over the last few campaigns have stunted his longevity. Upon Vincent Kompany's departure in 2019, the England star rose to the occasion to fill his boots, as proven by his all-action performances in the 2022/23 campaign, which resulted in a treble.
John Stones
CB: Aleksandar Kolarov
Primarily a full-back, Kolarov was shoehorned into the heart of defence against Sunderland. That just about summarises Guardiola's problems in defence throughout his entire term, splashing more on the backline than anywhere else, and it is the area of his squad that has gone through the most rebuilds.
The former Serbian international would leave the club at the end of the campaign to join Roma, where he would spend three seasons before a move to Inter Milan to spend a further two years before retiring. Kolarov would be appointed sporting director of Pisa in June 2013, but he would last only a month at the club. Now, he's back at Inter as assistant manager.
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LB: Gael Clichy
Left-back has been the one Achilles' heel in Guardiola's reign, and it could be argued that Gael Clichy was never really replaced, even nine years on. The Frenchman would move to Turkey to join Istanbul Basaksehir, where he would win the league in 2020 before moving on to Servette in December 2021, and he would spend 18 months here before retiring. Now, the is a manager in Championnat National with Caen, with the club set to finish mid-table in his first campaign in this role.
CM: Fernandinho
Fernandinho remains so underrated among the rest of the Premier League. But within City circles, there's still long-running debates about whether he was in fact better than Yaya Toure and Rodri. The Brazilian water-carrier would join Athletico Paranaense in 2022, the club where he began his career, spending two seasons at the club before retiring at the age of 39. Since then, he has been working as a coach for Caioba.
fernandinho-manchester-city
CM: David Silva
The mercurial David Silva would remain at Man City until the summer of 2020, when he would opt to join Real Sociedad on a free transfer. He would spend three seasons before being forced to retire after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament. The Spaniard has not ruled out a return to football in a coaching manner with the potential to become a manager; however, he has turned to the sport of Hyrox as a hobby, while he also owns a winery in his native Gran Canaria.
CAM: Kevin De Bruyne
Having only called time on a trophy-laden Man City tenure last summer, Kevin De Bruyne's whereabouts are well known, especially since he's among the greatest midfielders of his generation. You can still find him playing top-level football with Napoli, though injuries are starting to catch up with him in the Serie A.
RW: Raheem Sterling
It's a shame that Raheem Sterling hasn't been able to get back into the groove of first-team football since leaving City in 2022. He will always be held in high regard for forming one-third of the club's most exciting attacking trio, finishing his time at the Etihad with a tally of 131 goals and 87 assists in 339 appearances across all competitions.
Sadly, though, his subsequent stints at Chelsea, Arsenal, and now Feyenoord, have been made many neutrals forget about the former England international's star power.
Carabao Cup and Raheem Sterling
ST: Sergio Aguero
Man City's all-time top goalscorer is another who doesn't need any introduction, which goes to show the team Guardiola adpoted was already prepared to fight on all fronts for silverware. Sergio Aguero would have Guardiola in tears after his final game for the club before he joined Barcelona, with his manager believing he could never be replaced.
But the striker would only feature in four La Liga games for the Spanish side before being forced to retire due to health concerns. At present, he is the chairman of King's League Mexico, KRU FC, after joining the competition in November 2022.
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LW: Nolito
Nolito might be the only genuine flop in this lineup, meaning the least exciting was saved for last. Indeed, Leroy Sane was waiting in the wings, which would take City from a good side and make them an unstoppable force later known as the Centurions. For his predecessor, though, he went on to leave England the next summer, spending three seasons with Sevilla, before eventually finding himself in Ibiza, in the second-tier of Spanish football.