New manager, same old spending.
Pep Guardiola spent more than £1 billion on new players as head coach of Manchester City; a splurge that perhaps somewhat taints the value of his achievements at the club.
His successor, Enzo Maresca, will have a similar war chest to spend while the Abu Dhabi investors remain interested in football, and the Italian has already loosened the purse strings in the days after his appointment.
In comes Elliot Anderson, the Nottingham Forest midfielder whose rise to the top has been so stratospheric he was a regular in England’s starting eleven at the World Cup – as recently as 2022, he’d been turfed out on loan at Bristol Rovers.
The fee is a reported £116 million, which will make Anderson the most expensive British player in history.
It also breaks the record for Manchester City’s highest transfer fee paid; a milestone that has had quite the evolution since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan was handed the keys to the club.
Here’s a look at how Man City’s transfer record has been broken since the Sheikh took charge in 2008.
Robinho – £32.5 million (2008/09)
It feels like a lifetime ago that the Cityzens became cash fluid, but it was the hazy days of 2008.
Making a statement, City signed Robinho in the summer of ’08… smashing their previous transfer record.
#onthisday in 2008, @Robinho signs for City from @realmadrid. #mcfc #deadlineday pic.twitter.com/2wP4KC9wuY
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 1, 2015
So highly rated was the Brazilian as a youngster that Real Madrid snapped him up aged 21 and handed him the iconic number ten shirt right away.
Robinho became a key figure in two La Liga titles for the Galacticos, delivering a stack of goal involvements in a successful spell at the Bernabeu.
However, as talks over a new contract stalled, the freshly minted City swooped – paying around £32.5 million for his signature.
Things didn’t really go to plan though, as Robinho struggled to settle in England – 14 goals in 41 appearances is not the output that the oil barons were hoping for.
Eliaquim Mangala – £42 million (2014/15)
Having become the second-most expensive defender in history, much was expected of Eliaquim Mangala after he swapped FC Porto for Manchester in 2014.
The official fee was £32 million, although it increased to £42 million with a range of add-ons and bonuses.
His start to life in Manchester was inconsistent, with performances ranging from ‘colossal’ to ‘calamitous’, with own goals, red cards and the concession of penalties all on the Frenchman’s ledger in his first three months as a Cityzens player.
Mangala made more than 50 appearances for the club, but he never truly established himself as a first-team regular – hence why loan spells with Valencia and Everton were agreed to give him the game time he needed.
It quickly became evident that Mangala wouldn’t suit the style of the incoming head coach Pep Guardiola, given that he was an old-school centre back as opposed to a technician with the ball at his feet.
Valencia took the chance to sign him on a permanent deal, although the defender did collect a Premier League winner’s medal in 2017/18 after featuring in nine games.
Kevin de Bruyne – £55 million (2015/16)
Business certainly picked up during the 2015/16 season, when Kevin de Bruyne signed on the dotted line.
That was the year that Leicester City shocked the world by winning the Premier League title, but Man City were quietly starting a revolution that was kickstarted by the capture of the future club legend.
It didn’t take too long for De Bruyne to begin captivating the Etihad Stadium faithful, and some crucial goals – including strikes home and away in the Champions League quarter final with PSG – endeared him immediately.
A year after joining, the Belgian scored and assisted another in a 2-1 win in the Manchester derby; his status as a fan favourite was secured.
The good times continued to roll, and over the course of the next decade or so De Bruyne played a key role in Manchester City’s most dominant dynasty – six Premier League titles, their maiden Champions League triumph and a host of other silverware duly following.
With the Belgian’s powers waning, the emotional decision was made to move him on – the slower Serie A beckoned, but De Bruyne will forever be remembered as one of the greatest players in the club’s history… a worth accolade for their most expensive ever signing (at the time).
Jack Grealish – £100 million (2021/22)
When Jack Grealish joined City for £100 million in 2021, he broke all sorts of records.
He became the most expensive British player of all time, as well as the sixth costliest of any nationality, in addition to of course becoming Manchester City’s record fee.
Expectations? They couldn’t have been any higher.
Things started well enough and Grealish soon became a key figure in Guardiola’s plans, contributing goals and assists as City won three consecutive Premier League titles in as many years.
The former Aston Villa man was part of that famous City side that won the treble in 2022/23, collecting the Champions League and the FA Cup in addition to their Premier League triumph.
And then things started to go awry. Falling out of favour, Grealish was loaned to Everton, where he suffered a serious season-ending injury.
Technically, the 30-year-old is still a City player at the time of writing, and his place in the club’s folklore is secured. But how he’d love to write another chapter to ensure a happy ending to his story.
Elliot Anderson – £116 million (2026/27)
Only time will tell if Elliot Anderson can secure his place as a Manchester City legend.
As we’ve learned, paying a record transfer fee for a player is far from a guarantee of success, so Anderson will be hoping to hit the ground running in 2026/27.
All of the signs are that he has what it takes to make it work in Manchester… he, and City’s fans, will be hoping Anderson turns out to be more De Bruyne than Mangala.
