Manchester City didn’t win a trophy in Pep Guardiola’s first season as manager – & responded by spending £250million in the summer transfer market.
City came third in 2016-17, behind Chelsea and Tottenham, and were knocked out of the Champions League by Monaco in the last 16
Guardiola responded with five big signings that would lead City to a 100-point league season. Faced with another trophyless campaign to atone for, we’ve checked where those signings are today.
Bernardo Silva
City wasted no time in swooping for the midfielder who made their life a misery in the Champions League round of 16 the previous season, signing Silva from Monaco for a fee that could reach €70million with add-ons.
It’s fair to say those add-ons have likely been achieved and City have more than got their money’s worth.
The Portugal international has spent his prime in east Manchester as one of the best attacking midfielders in world football, winning six Premier Leagues, two FA Cups, a Champions League and countless other trophies.
Silva has also made the PFA Team of the Year on two occasions, but has noticeably dipped over the past 12 months and it may be time for City to replace him.
Ederson
As Guardiola swiftly pushed Joe Hart aside, Bravo was signed due to his ball-playing ability. While the Chilean goalkeeper was tidy with the ball at his feet, his shot-stopping skills weren’t up to standard.
Needing to rectify his mistake, Guardiola signed Ederson from Benfica for £35 million and has been rewarded with eight years of stellar service.
Ederson is often rotated with Stefan Ortega in 2025, but has contributed four Premier League assists this season. Will he stay at the Etihad next season?
Kyle Walker
In many ways, Walker was one of the most transformative signings in Guardiola’s career.
He came in to replace the departing Pablo Zabaleta, who was pensioned off to West Ham, and City never looked back from that moment.
Walker won the Premier League title during his first season in Manchester and he has since gone on to win 14 trophies with the club.
His £45.41million transfer fee was seen as expensive at the time and it’s unlikely he’ll stay at the club much longer having spent 2025 out on loan at AC Milan, but Walker has been immense for City.
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Danilo
While Danilo wasn’t exactly a roaring success at Man City, the club still managed to bank a fee just shy of £32million when offloading him to Juventus.
Six years after leaving Guardiola and City behind, Danilo is back in his native Brazil and plays for Flamengo after signing from Juve in January 2025.
Benjamin Mendy
Also a part of the team that beat City in the Champions League, Mendy made a then-record transfer to the Cityzens alongside Bernardo Silva in a £52million deal.
Six women made allegations of rape and attempted rape against Mendy. He was acquitted of all charges in 2023 following a retrial.
Mendy currently plays in Switzerland for FC Zurich.