Pep Guardiola sold 12 players after his first Manchester City season ended without a trophy – but where are they all today?
Guardiola cleared the decks after the 2016-17 season, reshaping his squad before embarking on an unprecedented period of success at the Etihad Stadium.
We’ve looked back at the dozen players Guardiola sold eight years ago and where they’re at today.
Willy Cabellero
After making 27 appearances under Guardiola and battling with Claudio Bravo for the number one spot, Caballero was let go on a free transfer in the summer of 2017.
He went on to spend the next six years in the Premier League as a backup goalkeeper for Chelsea and Southampton before hanging up his gloves in 2023 at the age of 41.
The Argentinian has since pursued a coaching career and is now part of Enzo Maresca’s coaching staff at Chelsea.
Gael Clichy
The French full-back made 39 appearances under Guardiola during 2016-17 but was released at the end of the season following his contract expiring.
He spent the final years of his career playing in Turkey and Switzerland before he announced his retirement from the game in the summer of 2023.
The 39-year-old now works as the assistant manager of the France national under-21 team.
Jesus Navas
Navas was electric during the title win of 2014 under Manuel Pellegrini, but was sold back to Sevilla three years later as Guardiola looked to shape up his squad.
The Spaniard kept playing until December 2024 before retiring at the age of 39, having made 705 Sevilla appearances and won eight major trophies for the club.
Bacary Sagna
After leaving City, Sagna enjoyed short spells with Benevento and Montreal Impact before announcing his retirement in January 2020.
The former full-back has since gone into business and is now a partner with French backpack company Gravipack.
Sagna has reportedly pumped £220,000 of his own money into the company that sells ‘weightless rucksacks’ for £200. Bargain.
Pablo Zabaleta
After spending one year working under Guardiola, Zabaleta was sent to the West Ham retirement home upon his contract with City expiring.
The full-back spent three years with the Hammers and after doing some punditry work, the 40-year-old has since gone into coaching.
He now works as the assistant manager of Albania, where he works alongside a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it former team-mate Sylvinho.
Bruno Zuculini
The first entry where we’ve had to resort to Wikipedia, Zucilini never made an appearance under Guardiola as he spent the majority of his City career out on loan.
He was eventually sold in July 2017 when Hellas Verona came in with a £1.2million offer for the central midfielder.
Then, following a short spell in Italy, he returned to Argentina and spent his peak years with River Plate before joining Racing Club in 2024.
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Nolito
After being signed by Guardiola, it wasn’t long until Nolito was heading for the exit door as he only lasted a year in Manchester.
He spent the final years of his career playing in Spain and following a stint with Ibiza FC, he called it quits on his professional career in September 2023.
“He gave me the opportunity to debut for FC Barcelona’s first team and repeated the gesture in Manchester,” Nolito told City Xtra when discussing Guardiola.
“He called me and placed his trust in me. Over the years, I have developed a profound affection for him and I will be eternally grateful for everything he did for me. I wish him nothing but the best.”
Aleksandar Kolarov
Following a successful seven-year stint at City, Guardiola cashed in on Kolarov in the summer of 2017 when Roma came calling.
The Serbian defender then spent the last five years of his career in Italy playing for Roma and Inter Milan, before he retired from the game in 2022.
Like a handful of other players on this list, Kolarov has also pursued a coaching career in his post-playing days.
In November 2024, the 39-year-old became the new Serbia U21 head coach.
Kelechi Iheanacho
Once a prolific super-sub for City, Guardiola sold the Nigerian forward in 2017 for £25million when Leicester City came calling.
The 28-year-old went on to spend the next seven years with the Foxes where he scored 61 goals in 232 appearances.
After playing a role in their promotion from the Championship last season, he made the switch to Sevilla before being loaned to Middlesbrough for the second half of 2024-25.
Fernando
Despite only working under Guardiola for one season at City, it’s clear that the Spanish coach had a profound impact on Fernando’s career.
“He is a coach that teaches you good things, in particular you have to be focused on training and not only on matches,” Fernando told Goal.
“At training, you can get many good things from him if you pay attention and do it well. Details are really important for him.”
After enjoying his peak years in Europe, the 37-year-old has since returned to Brazil and now plays for Internacional.
Samir Nasri
The Frenchman was a top player during his prime, but by the time Guardiola had arrived in Manchester, Nasri was already on the decline.
After making a 15-minute cameo against West Ham, Nasri was sent out on loan to Sevilla for the 2016–17 campaign before he left City on a permanent basis the following summer to join Antalyaspor.
Since retiring in 2020, the 37-year-old has become a pundit and currently works for French broadcaster Canal Plus.
Wilfried Bony
One of the biggest flops of the Abu Dhabi era, Bony was never able to replicate the form he showed at Swansea that made City pay £28million for his services in 2015.
After just 10 goals in 48 appearances, the majority from the bench or in cup competitions, Bony was loaned to Stoke before City cut their losses and sanctioned his return to Swansea.
Now 36, the former Ivory Coast international has played in Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands and Bolivia for the brilliantly named Always Ready. He is currently looking for his next club.