Manchester City
Premier League • England
The eight times Man City have broken their club transfer record in the Abu Dhabi era
Record-breaking Man City signings in the Abu Dhabi era
Manchester City have been one of the most financially powerful and domestically dominant sides in English football history ever since Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi Investment Group bought the club in 2008.
Last season City became the first team ever to be crowned champions of England for the fourth season in succession, following from their Treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup just a year earlier.
City’s success under their Abu Dhabi owners is not simply a result of spending big on the best players, with improvements to the club’s infrastructure, investment in a world-class academy and the genius of Pep Guardiola all huge contributing factors. But they have also spent heavily on top players along the way.
Here are the eight times City have broken their club transfer record since the 2008 takeover…
Robinho – £32.5million
The Abu Dhabi group’s City takeover was made official on 1 September 2008, which also happened to be transfer deadline day.
In a scramble to spend some of their new riches, City hastily attempted to sign Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham for £30 million, but the Bulgarian striker instead signed for cross-city rivals United.
City were able to pull off one mega move that day, though – the British-record £32.5 million capture of Brazilian superstar Robinho from Real Madrid.
The immensely skilled forward’s arrival was a huge statement of intent for City, who in one fell swoop had signalled their ambition to quickly compete for top honours.
And Robinho started brightly at the City of Manchester Stadium – which would not be renamed the Etihad for another three years – scoring in a 3-1 loss to Chelsea on his debut and netting eight times in his first 11 Premier League games.
But the Selecao attacker’s form soon dipped. He finished the season with 15 goals from 41 all-competitions appearances and, after one strike in 12 games midway through his second campaign with City, he returned to former club Santos on loan before a £15 million switch to AC Milan in the summer of 2010.
Sergio Aguero – £38million
Three years after their Robinho purchase, City once again broke their transfer record to sign a South American from Madrid. This time, though, there would be no regrets.
Sergio Aguero arrived from Atletico Madrid in a £38 million deal in July 2011. And across 10 glory-filled seasons at the Etihad he would establish a legacy as a City legend and a Premier League great.
The Argentinian striker’s haul of 260 goals in 390 games made him the club’s all-time leading scorer. And within that tally was arguably the most iconic goal in Premier League history, when he fired home a stoppage-time winner against Queens Park Rangers on the last day of the 2011-12 season to clinch City’s first top-flight title in 36 years.
Raheem Sterling – £49million
The most controversial record signing of City’s Abu Dhabi era, the club paid £44 million – plus a further £5 million in add-ons – to buy 20-year-old Raheem Sterling from Liverpool in 2015. Relations between all parties were strained over a drawn-out transfer saga that saw the player engineer his Anfield exit by requesting to be left out of the Reds’ pre-season tour.
But Sterling proved to be more than worth the effort and the outlay. Over seven seasons with City, he scored 131 goals and was a key figure in four Premier League title triumphs and a run to the 2021 Champions League final.
City even managed to recover most of the sum they’d paid for the England star when he left to join Chelsea in the summer of 2022, receiving a £47.5 million fee.
Kevin De Bruyne – £54million
Eyebrows were raised when City forked out £54 million to sign Kevin De Bruyne in August 2015, breaking their club transfer for the second time in six weeks. The Belgian had made little impact at Chelsea earlier in his career and many observers opined that City had grossly overpaid for a player who’d already proven himself to be below the Premier League standard.
Such assessments couldn’t have been any wider of the mark. De Bruyne had shone in two and a half seasons with Wolfsburg, winning the Bundesliga Player of the Year award in his final campaign in Germany.
And in nine seasons at the Etihad, De Bruyne has performed to a level that has seen him enter the conversation as one of the Premier League’s greatest-ever players, winning six titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League.
DIVE DEEPER: All the done deals by Premier League clubs in the summer 2024 transfer window
Aymeric Laporte – £57million
After missing out on previous target Virgil van Dijk when the Dutchman joined Liverpool in a record £75 million move in January 2018, City spent big on a different defensive upgrade later the same month, signing Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao for £57 million.
As Athletic are famously reluctant negotiators, City were forced to stump up the full release clause in the France-born Spain international’s contract. But for the first half of his five and a half seasons at the Etihad, Laporte’s hefty fee looked like a steal.
For his calmness on the ball, power in the air and the authority with which he patrolled City’s backline, Laporte was one of the Premier League’s best centre-backs in his peak. Injuries impacted his final months with the club, but he’d won five league titles and a Champions League by the time he was sold to Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League in August 2023.
Riyad Mahrez – £60million
After winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award for his part in Leicester City’s miraculous 2015-16 Premier League title triumph, Riyad Mahrez was one of the hottest properties in English football.
The Algerian winger was close to joining Chelsea before City swooped in with a £60 million bid to take him to the Etihad in July 2018. And over five seasons on the blue side of Manchester, Mahrez was a crucial part of Pep Guardiola’s attack, scoring 78 goals and providing 56 assists.
Mahrez left City to join Saudi side Al Ahly in a £30 million deal in 2023.
Rodri – £62.8million
For much of the early part of Guardiola’s reign, one lingering question hung over City’s prospects of continued success: how would they eventually replace ageing yet vital defensive midfielder Fernandinho.
In the summer of 2019, City unequivocally answered that question with the club-record £62.8 million signing of Rodri.
The Spanish conductor had established himself as one of the finest deep-lying playmakers in La Liga and the heir to Sergio Busquets as the metronome of La Roja’s midfield since his breakthrough with Villarreal.
That reputation only blossomed further in a single season with Atletico Madrid. By the time Fernandinho returned to Brazil in 2022, Rodri had cemented his status as the best in Europe in his role.
He was voted the Champions League Player of the Season after City won the Treble in 2022-23 and he was named the European Championship Player of the Tournament after leading Spain to glory at Euro 2024.
READ NEXT: The 10 biggest spending football managers since Pep Guardiola joined Man City in 2016
Jack Grealish – £100million
When City activated the release clause in Jack Grealish’s Aston Villa contract in August 2021, they made the winger the most expensive English player of all time.
Grealish was initially slow to settle into Guardiola’s system, returning just six goals and four assists over 39 appearances in his first season at the Etihad.
The former Villa academy graduate had adapted to life under the Catalan tactician by his second City campaign, however, and was key to the club’s Treble success, providing 11 assists, although his scoring output dipped to five goals from 50 games.
Last season saw Grealish less relied upon after the signing of Belgian winger Jeremy Doku. His drop in form and fall from favour at the Etihad resulted in him being omitted from the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 squad.