Manchester City's unprecedented rise from Premier League outsiders to one of the most dominant clubs in world football was built on enormous investment in playing talent. Now, that era is facing an uncomfortable reassessment following the Premier League's verdict on the club's financial breaches.
The Premier League's charges covered nine seasons, from 2009/10 through 2017/18, with an independent commission finding City guilty of serious financial-rule breaches relating to that period. The commission concluded that the club had used arrangements that artificially inflated revenues and reduced costs, while also breaching spending limits.
Against that backdrop, here are the five most expensive Manchester City signings during the investigation period, according to the figures in the provided graphic.
1. Aymeric Laporte – £55.9m
Signed from: Athletic Bilbao
Season: 2017/18
Laporte was City's biggest signing during the period, arriving for approximately £55.9 million in January 2018.
His immediate impact was significant. He played nine of City's final 14 Premier League matches as Pep Guardiola's side completed a record-breaking 100-point campaign. He then became one of the central figures in City's remarkable 2018/19 domestic clean sweep, making 51 appearances as they won all four major domestic trophies.
Laporte ultimately won 13 major honours during his City career, including five Premier League titles and the Champions League.
2. Kevin De Bruyne – £55m
Signed from: Wolfsburg
Season: 2015/16
If there is one player on this list whose impact is impossible to overstate, it is Kevin De Bruyne.
City paid approximately £55 million for the Belgian in 2015, and he quickly developed into the creative heartbeat of Guardiola's team. He scored the goal that helped City reach the 2015/16 Champions League semi-finals and was named the club's Player of the Year in his first season.
De Bruyne subsequently became one of the greatest midfielders in Premier League history, collecting 19 major honours with City and becoming the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League assists.
His contribution to City's golden era is enormous.
3. Benjamin Mendy – £49.5m
Signed from: Monaco
Season: 2017/18
Mendy arrived from Monaco for approximately £49.5 million after helping his former club win Ligue 1 and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
His City career, however, was considerably more complicated than those of the other players on this list. Injuries and off-field issues severely restricted his availability, meaning he never consistently delivered on the enormous potential that made him such an expensive signing.
He nevertheless played a role in City's early Guardiola era and was part of the squad that won the 2017/18 Premier League title.
4. John Stones – £47.5m
Signed from: Everton
Season: 2016/17
Stones cost approximately £47.5 million when City signed him from Everton in 2016.
Initially, his development was uneven. Yet patience eventually paid off spectacularly. Stones evolved into a technically excellent defender capable of stepping into midfield, becoming an important component of Guardiola's tactical revolution.
He went on to win multiple Premier League titles, domestic cups and the Champions League, becoming one of the defining defenders of City's most successful era.
5. Kyle Walker – £45m
Signed from: Tottenham Hotspur
Season: 2017/18
Walker completed the top five at approximately £45 million.
His importance to City was about much more than his defensive ability. His extraordinary pace allowed Guardiola to deploy an extremely aggressive defensive line while giving the team recovery speed few opponents could match.
Walker became a key figure in City's dominance, winning numerous Premier League titles and playing an important role in the club's historic 2022/23 Treble.
The Complicated Legacy of City's Golden Era
This is what makes the financial controversy so difficult to separate from Manchester City's footballing achievements.
These were not expensive signings who simply failed to deliver. De Bruyne, Walker, Stones and Laporte became major contributors to one of the most successful teams English football has ever seen. Even Mendy, despite his troubled spell, was part of the squad during City's transformation.
The players themselves cannot reasonably be blamed for the club's financial conduct. They arrived, played football and, in several cases, became legends.
But that is precisely what makes the situation so uncomfortable.
The Premier League commission found that City's financial reporting during the period did not accurately reflect the club's true position, with the commission concluding that the arrangements enabled the club to circumvent financial rules.
That inevitably casts a shadow over the era in which these players helped City become a superpower.
The football was real. The goals, assists, tackles and trophies were real. But with the financial findings now established, the legacy of Manchester City's rise between 2009 and 2018 has become impossible to discuss without also discussing how that success was financed.
And that may ultimately be the most complicated part of City's extraordinary story.
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