Where are they now? The 6 players Man City signed alongside Ilkay Gundogan in 2016
Manchester City originally signed Ilkay Gundogan in the summer of 2016 during Pep Guardiola’s first season at the club, but what happened to the other six players that were signed that summer?
After spending last season with Barcelona, Man City are now working on a deal to bring the German midfielder back to the Etihad.
With a potential reunion on the cards for Gundogan this summer, we’ve checked out where the other six players that Man City signed alongside him are today.
Nolito
The Spanish winger only lasted one season in England before he called it quits and decided to return to Spain.
“My daughter’s face has changed colour — it looks like she’s been living in a cave,” Noltio told El Transistor when discussing his struggles in Manchester.
He spent the final season of his career playing with UD Ibiza and announced his retirement from the game in September last year, aged 36.
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Signed for £1.6million from FC Ufa, Man City landed Zinchenko for a bargain. The Ukrainian star made 128 appearances for the club and won 10 trophies during his six-year stay.
Nowadays starring for Arsenal, Zinchenko will be hoping to get one over on his former employers this season.
Leroy Sane
Guardiola’s side was arguably most entertaining when they had a front three of Sane, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero. They were box-office to watch on their day and it was a shame that Sane didn’t stick around for longer.
After spending four years in England, the lure of Bayern Munich was simply too good to refuse from Sane’s perspective.
“I just had a feeling that I needed something new and that is why I came at the end to this decision,” Sane told reporters when discussing the move to Bayern Munich.
“I told them I wanted to move and this was the right decision. I was thinking about the whole package – not just about me but my family and everything else. That’s why the decision was made that I wanted to come to Munich.”
The 28-year-old is now set to enter his fifth season with the Bundesliga giants, having collected seven trophies with them so far.
READ NEXT: Where are they now? The 10 most expensive players sold by Pep Guardiola
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every club Erling Haaland has scored against for Man City?
Marlos Moreno
We’d forgive you for forgetting about Moreno given the Colombian forward never made an appearance for City, despite spending six years at the club.
He spent the majority of his time out on loan and now aged 27 plays for Konyaspor in the Turkish Super League.
John Stones
Of the signings that Man City made in 2016, Stones is the only player who is still at the club to this day. Guardiola always had faith in the England international and for good reason.
While injuries have prevented him from being a regular starter in recent years, he still plays a key role at City today, eight years after his arrival from Everton.
READ: Can you name every player Pep Guardiola has used at Man City?
Claudio Bravo
While Bravo had built a good reputation for himself in Spain, his time in England wasn’t exactly a roaring success.
During his solitary season as Man City’s first-choice goalkeeper, he had a save percentage of just 56.7% which was the worst of any Premier League goalkeeper that year.
Guardiola soon purchased Ederson to replace him and after spending a few years on the bench, he returned to Spain in 2020 to join Real Betis.
Now aged 41, Bravo is yet to officially announce his retirement, although he has been without a club since being let go by Betis in the summer.