Here, we compile five of Pep Guardiola’s best Manchester City signings of all-time since joining the Premier League giants in 2016.
Pep Guardiola has proven to be arguably the best manager of the last decade or so. The trailblazing Spaniard’s ever-evolving brand of football from the Nou Camp to the Etihad Stadium has revolutionised modern football and has changed how many coaches around the world see the beautiful game.
But of course there are the band of people who seek to undermine Guardiola and his incredible CV. And their argument is the vast amount of finance available to him over the years, particularly at Man City, weighs heavier as an advantage than purely his tactical nous.
Sure, money helps a lot. But it’s how Guardiola alongside his City colleagues use the riches at their disposal and then integrating them into a world-class squad.
As per transfermarkt, Chelsea have spent more since Guardiola stepped on English soil in 2016 but they haven’t been able to carve out the success he has enjoyed as City supremo.
His recruitment is usually always spot on and is a massive part of fuelling the winning machine Man City have become under Guardiola. So here, filtered from lowest amount paid to highest, we have a look at Pep Guardiola’s best-ever signings at City.
Ederson – £35m
We start with an absolute bargain in goalkeeper Ederson. The Brazilian was a shrewd buy from Benfica in 2017 as Guardiola sought a long-term solution between the sticks.
Claudio Bravo was the previous Man City No1 but Ederson quickly displaced the Chilean, who was prone to a mistake or two. It turned out to be an incredible upgrade as Ederson has proven over the years that he was a key man in transforming City into the dominant English force.
The old adage of needing a world-class goalkeeper to win a Premier League title can’t be exemplified more than the case of Ederson, who has won the trophy in every season bar one since stepping foot in Manchester.
Bernardo Silva – £43m
Another former Benfica player, Bernardo Silva has lit up the Premier League since making the switch from Monaco in 2017.
Pep Guardiola took notice of Silva’s burgeoning career in the flesh as the elegant Portuguese attacking midfielder shone for the French outfit against City in the 2016/17 Champions League.
He is easily one of Guardiola’s most consistent performers and is never one to be out injured for a long period of time. Silva can be play in a variety of advanced positions and showed during arguably his best season for City in 2018/19 that he can step up to the plate when Kevin de Bruyne is absent.
During that Premier League-winning campaign, Silva recorded 27 goal contributions in 51 games in all competitions and thus won City’s player of the season award.
Kyle Walker – £50m
Marauding English full-back Kyle Walker has grown into a Manchester City stalwart in recent years. Guardiola made Walker one of the most expensive players ever in 2017, which as you can tell was a key year for massive signings at the Etihad.
Walker is a physical specimen and statistically the fastest-ever player in the Premier League. He is as good defensively as he is going forward and can be viewed as the model Guardiola full-back.
Walker has won 15 trophies at City and since signing, only Ederson has started more games than the right-back, which is now nearing the 300-mark.
Erling Haaland – £51m
Were you worried Erling Haaland wasn’t going to be on this list? Don’t be so silly.
Nobody can deny that the Norwegian superstar has been Guardiola’s most important signing since the Spaniard moved to City because of how unprecedentedly deadly the striker is in front of goal.
Haaland’s numbers are seriously frightening. He fired in 61 goals in 61 games for club and country across in his first season at City and shattered Premier League records galore, one being the most Premier League goals in a season and being named both the young player and player of the campaign – it had never been achieved before.
Guardiola’s final piece of his attacking jigsaw was Haaland and scarily enough, there’s so much more the 2023 Balon d’Or runner-up can achieve at the age of just 23.
Rodri – £62m
Pep Guardiola’s most expensive best-ever signing is fellow countryman Rodri, who is the City manager’s classic pivot midfielder.
The £62.8m man Rodri oozes class and is one of the most complete ball-playing defensive midfielders in world football. The former Atletico Madrid star is the anchor to City’s dominance in games and was so integral throughout the club’s Treble-winning 2022/23 campaign.
Alas, Rodri scored the only goal of the Champions League Final against Inter Milan, cementing himself as a Manchester City legend despite only being at the club since 2019.
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