The 10 Man City players sold for the biggest transfer profits in the Pep Guardiola era

While Manchester City have spent a lot of money in recent years, their ability to negotiate a sale has also been a key reason for their success.

City manager Pep Guardiola often allows players to leave the club and they have made over £500million through player sales in the last three years.

We’ve taken a look at the 10 players that City have made the most profit on in the Guardiola era. We’ve mentioned the potential add-ons in any deal but we’ve used the initial transfer fees to work out the profit.

Note: we’ve not included players who played for the City academy and were then sold to another club, which rules out the likes of Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, Brahim Diaz, Gavin Bazunu and Kelechi Iheanacho.

10. Jack Harrison – £6.75m profit

Manchester City used their connections with American sister club New York City FC to buy Harrison in a £4.25million deal in January 2018.

After a brief loan spell at Middlesbrough in the second half of the 2017/18 campaign, the winger spent the following three seasons on loan at Leeds United and became a key player under Marcelo Bielsa.

His third loan deal at Elland Road included an £11million option-to-buy clause, which Leeds triggered in the summer of 2021.

9. Danilo – £7.6m profit

City fought off competition from Chelsea and Juventus to sign Danilo from Real Madrid in a £26.5million deal in the summer of 2017.

The right-back spent two title-winning seasons at the Etihad but struggled to hold down a first-team place, making just 22 starts in the Premier League.

City still made £34.1million when offloading the Brazil international to Juventus in 2019 and Joao Cancelo moved in the opposite direction in a separate deal.

8. Leroy Sane – £7.7m profit

One of the first signings of the Pep Guardiola era, Sane joined City from Schalke in 2016 in a deal worth an initial £37million and another £9.5million in potential add-ons.

The winger was named the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2017/18, and he also helped the club win two Premier League titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup.

But he rejected numerous offers of a new contract and City sold him to Bayern Munich in 2020 in order to avoid losing him on a free transfer.

They received an initial £44.7million for the Germany international and the fee could reach £54.8million with potential add-ons.

Leroy Sané: Man City edition 🔵#UCL pic.twitter.com/UGd0Fz5PvC

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 11, 2023

7. Aaron Mooy – £8m profit

Mooy spent two years at A-League side Melbourne City – who are part of the City Football Group – before joining Manchester City on a free transfer in 2016.

He was immediately loaned out to Huddersfield Town for the 2016/17 season and helped the club win promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs.

The Terriers then spent an initial £8million and another £2million in potential add-ons to sign the former Australia international on a permanent deal.

6. Enes Unal – £10m profit

Unal left boyhood club Bursaspor and completed a £2million move to City in 2015, but he was unable to secure a work permit to play in the Premier League.

The striker had loan spells at Genk, NAC Breda and FC Twente and scored 18 Eredivisie goals with the latter in the 2016/17 season.

His form in the Netherlands attracted interest from Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Lazio, Lille, Monaco, Valencia, Villarreal, Schalke, Porto and Benfica.

Villarreal won the race for his signature in the summer of 2017 after agreeing to pay £12million for the Turkey international.

5. Angelino – £10.7m profit

While Angelino is a City academy graduate, we’re making an exception here.

The left-back was sold to PSV Eindhoven in 2018, but he returned to City a year later after they activated a £5.3million buy-back clause in his contract.

He joined RB Leipzig on a six-month loan deal in January 2020 and was a key part of the team that reached the Champions League semi-finals.

His second loan spell with the Bundesliga side included a £16million obligation-to-buy clause, which was triggered after he reached a pre-agreed number of appearances.

4. Gabriel Jesus – £18m profit

Having established himself as one of the best young talents in South America, Jesus left Palmeiras in January 2017 and completed a £27million move to City.

The striker registered 95 goals and 46 assists in 236 appearances for City, helping the club win four Premier League titles, three League Cups and an FA Cup.

But he was deemed surplus to requirements following Erling Haaland’s arrival from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022.

City sold the Brazil international to Arsenal in a deal worth an initial £45million and another £5million in potential add-ons.

3. Ferran Torres – £25.9m profit

After Sane joined Bayern Munich in 2020, City replaced the Germany international by signing Torres from Valencia in a deal worth an initial £20.8million.

He enjoyed a promising debut season at the Etihad, scoring 13 goals in all competitions while helping the club win the Premier League and the League Cup.

But midway through the following campaign, the Spain international asked to leave Etihad after being approached by Barcelona.

The La Liga side agreed to pay City an initial £46.7million in January 2022, with the fee potentially rising to £55.2million with add-ons.

Official: Ferran Torres vs. Newcastle won #ManCity‘s Goal of the Season. pic.twitter.com/fw9NClTKyU

— City Report (@cityreport_) May 24, 2021

2. Oleksandr Zinchenko – £28.3m profit

Zinchenko was a relatively unknown 19-year-old when City signed him from Russian Premier League team Ufa in a £1.7million deal in 2016.

The Ukraine international made 128 appearances for City and became a useful utility player, but he struggled to nail down a regular starting berth.

He left the Etihad in search of regular first-team football and followed Jesus to Arsenal, who forked out an initial fee of £30million in the summer of 2022.

“We agreed [to sell them] because they were here a lot of years and [they wanted] a new challenge and Arsenal wanted them,” Guardiola said when asked about Zinchenko and Jesus. “It happened in a natural way.”

1. Julian Alvarez – £50.3m profit

A River Plate academy graduate, Alvarez agreed to join City in January 2022 after they triggered the £14.1million release clause in his contract.

He registered 36 goals and 18 assists in 103 appearances for City, helping the club win two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Club Cup.

But the Argentina international often had to play back-up to Erling Haaland, and he decided to pursue a new challenge at the end of the 2023/24 season.

City sanctioned his departure after Atletico Madrid agreed to pay an initial £64.4million and a further £17.1million in potential add-ons.

The deal represents a club-record sale for City, eclipsing the £47.5million they got for Raheem Sterling from Chelsea in 2022.

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