7 forgotten Man City academy graduates who became cult heroes elsewhere
Manchester City have produced plenty of world-class players over the years, although not all of them make the grade at the Etihad
For every Phil Foden, there are countless examples of other City academy graduates who forge a career for themselves elsewhere.
We’ve looked beyond the obvious names that City have produced in the past and have found seven of them who became cult heroes elsewhere.
Jadon Sancho
Sancho established himself as one of the most exciting talents in Europe during his time at Borussia Dortmund.
He looked destined to be the one that got away, but his travails in the red half of Manchester mean that few at City look back with regret at letting him go now.
Far from the England reckoning these days, and with his Dortmund heroics slipping further from memory, Sancho is currently performing inconsistently at Chelsea.
Brahim Diaz
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Diaz has seen his market value double which is seriously impressive.
On the back of a few good loan spells with AC Milan, the Real Madrid playmaker looked like a new player when he returned to the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 24-year-old spent a total of four years on the books at Man City but only made 15 senior appearances before he left in 2019.
“This is the happiest day of my life, I couldn’t have a better gift for Three Kings Day [6 January in Spain],” Diaz told reporters after signing for Real Madrid for £15million five years ago.
“I had three options after deciding to leave Manchester City. One, play at Real Madrid, two, play at Real Madrid and three, play at Real Madrid. It was impossible to go anywhere else.”
Aleix Garcia
Garcia made eight first-team appearances under Pep Guardiola, including his Premier League bow against Bournemouth in September 2016, but was a perennial loanee before leaving for Dinamo Bucuresti in 2020.
In 2021, he spent half a season at Eibar before re-signing for one of those loan clubs, Girona.
After helping the Catalan club reach the Champions League in 2023-24, Garcia moved to Bayer Leverkusen and has since become a mainstay in Xabi Alonso’s side.
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Jack Harrison
After spending his youth career at Liverpool and Manchester United, Harrison enjoyed his breakthrough at New York City FC and was signed by City in 2018.
While the midfielder never played a first-team game for the club, he did become a cult hero at Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa with his committed performances and eye for goal.
Aaron Mooy
Mooy arrived at City in the same summer as Guardiola, but he never made a senior appearance.
The Australian midfielder was immediately loaned out to Huddersfield Town who he then signed for on a permanent basis in the next summer.
While Mooy probably didn’t have the skill set to make it at the elite level, he has enjoyed a successful career in the top flight.
Following stints with Brighton, Shanghai SIPG and Celtic, Mooy announced his retirement from professional football in the summer of 2023.
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Tom Dele-Bashiru
Dele-Bashiru joined the City academy as a youngster and spent a total of 14 years at the club before he departed in 2019.
He did manage to make one appearance before he left as he featured in the 2017-18 EFL Cup quarter-final clash against Leicester City.
Since leaving City, the Nigerian midfielder has been on the books at Watford and he’s been developing nicely over the past couple of years.
He’s established himself as a key component in Tom Cleverley’s play-off chasing side this season.
Michael Olise
Olise had quite the youth career, to say the least. He spent time in the Arsenal, Chelsea and City academies, but it was at Reading where he made his breakthrough.
Now considered one of the best upcoming playmakers in the world, City probably regret letting him leave as a kid.
Plenty of top clubs were vying for his signature last summer, but Bayern Munich managed to fend off the competition and land him for a €60million fee. He’s been decent in Germany too.