Declan Rice’s future finally appears to be resolved, with the West Ham captain closing in on a £105m switch to Arsenal.
It took the Gunners three separate bids and plenty of negotiating, but they look to have got their man in the end.
At one stage it seemed that they could miss out on the 24-year-old midfielder, though. Manchester City entered the race for his signature, and even put a £90m bid on the table, but they swiftly withdrew their interest after learning of Rice’s preference to join Arsenal.
The decision to avoid bidding wars has become a City trademark over the years, with the club consistently backing out of negotiations if they are not completely happy with a deal.
Mail Sport has taken a look at the players they have walked away from under their Abu Dhabi owners, and whether they were right to do so or not.
Declan Rice look set to join Arsenal after they reached an agreement with West Ham
Pep Guardiola’s Man City made a bid for Rice, but later withdrew their interest in him
Right calls
Alexis Sanchez – 2018
Back in January 2018, Alexis Sanchez was one of the best players in the Premier League, and with his Arsenal contract running down, City sensed the opportunity to snap him up.
Manchester United and Chelsea were also showing interest in the Chilean forward, while Arsenal tried to convince him to stay put.
City, on their way to their first title under Pep Guardiola, looked well-placed to sign Sanchez, but eventually made the decision to pull out of the race due to his wage demands.
He ended up joining United on a deal that saw him earn £600,000-a-week including image rights and bonuses.
His Old Trafford move proved to be a disaster, as he netted just five goals in 45 appearances before being shipped out on loan to Inter Milan in 2019. City dodged a bullet with that one.
Alexis Sanchez moved to Manchester United and had a nightmare spell at Old Trafford
Harry Maguire – 2019
Manchester City defended their title in 2018-19, holding off Liverpool by a single point in a thrilling climax to the season. But Guardiola still wanted to bolster his defence and set his sights on Harry Maguire.
However, Leicester were demanding a world-record fee for a defender, and City were unwilling to meet their asking price.
Once more, they gave United a free run for the centre back, as the Red Devils splashed out £80m on Maguire.
The following season, City could not keep pace with Liverpool, and did have defensive issues throughout the campaign.
However, they fixed those in 2020 by signing Ruben Dias, who has gone on to be one of the Premier League’s standout defenders.
Maguire has not hit the same heights, and could be on the move again this summer after falling out of favour at Old Trafford under Erik ten Hag last term.
Kalidou Koulibaly – 2020
Kalidou Koulibaly was viewed as one of the best defenders in Serie A after thriving for Napoli.
A move to the Premier League was mooted for several years, and in 2020 it looked like City would bring the Senegalese international to the Etihad Stadium.
Koulibaly would later admit he thought he was ‘certain’ to move to City, but they baulked at his £72m price-tag and went for Dias instead.
He subsequently joined Chelsea in 2022, but never looked at home in the Premier League, and has recently completed a switch to Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal.
Meanwhile, Dias has won three consecutive titles and the Champions League. City got that call spot on.
Kalidou Koulibaly had a miserable year at Chelsea and has now moved to Saudi Arabia
Lionel Messi – 2021
As Lionel Messi entered the final days of his Barcelona contract in 2021, it was clear there were only a handful of clubs at best that could afford his lucrative wages to entice him away from the Nou Camp.
City were one of those teams, and they did show genuine interest in the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, but did not follow through as the Argentine icon moved to PSG instead.
Messi would go on to underwhelm in his first year in Paris as he struggled to settle, and he may have had a similar experience if he’d moved to Manchester.
Guardiola would have also likely have had to change his system to accommodate Messi, altering the dynamic of the team.
But without Messi, he employed a ‘false nine’ as City won the league, before adding Erling Haaland to his squad last summer.
Haaland’s arrival saw City dominate last season as they won the Treble, and they now look more complete than ever to show that missing out on Messi was not a blow.
Lionel Messi went to PSG and struggled to settle in his two years in the French capital
Cristiano Ronaldo – 2021
From one global superstar to another, as City found themselves in the race to sign Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of the summer transfer window in 2021.
Their main competitors for his signature? That’s right – Manchester United, again.
Ronaldo has since claimed that he came very close to joining City, but the club dispute this, insisting they were the ones that decided to withdraw from discussions as the Portuguese star secured a sensational return to the Theatre of Dreams.
Ronaldo scored 18 league goals in his first season back in England, but United went backwards as a team, finishing sixth after a disastrous 2021-22 campaign.
The forward then fell out of favour with Erik ten Hag, which led to him criticising the Dutchman and United in a scathing interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo’s contract was terminated, with City watching the drama unfold from afar, happy that they had cooled their interest in him the previous year.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s second spell at United came to an unhappy end when his contract was terminated
Marc Cucurella – 2022
Marc Cucurella took the Premier League by storm when he moved to Brighton in 2021, and after just one year in England he was attracting interest from City.
Having used Joao Cancelo as a left back in the 2021-22 season, Guardiola wanted a more orthodox option and targeted his fellow countryman.
However, City were not happy with Brighton refusing to budge their asking price below £50m and decided to look elsewhere.
Cucurella moved to Chelsea for £62m shortly afterwards, but he endured a miserable season last term as he was criticised for his defending, with the team finishing down in 12th place.
City turned to Manuel Akanji instead, and he slotted in at centre back and left back during the season, becoming a key part of Guardiola’s back line.
Wrong calls
Eden Hazard – 2012
A 21-year-old Eden Hazard was on the market in 2012, and it came down to City and Chelsea for his signature once again.
City emerged as the favourites to land Hazard, but his £200,000-a-week wage demands became a stumbling block.
In swept Chelsea to sign him for £32m, and he proved to be worth every penny.
During his seven years in west London Hazard won the Premier League and Europa League twice each, the FA Cup and the Europa League.
One that got away for City.
City missed out on Eden Hazard in 2012, and he went on to become a Chelsea legend
Paulo Dybala – 2015
City spotted a young talent in the shape of Paulo Dybala in 2015 after the Argentine had impressed for Serie A side Palermo.
The club’s hierarchy were keen on sealing a deal for Dybala, but Manuel Pellegrini as not as convinced and decided to go for the Premier League-proven Wilfried Bony instead.
Bony failed to live up to expectations, playing just 46 times for City and scoring only 11 goals.
Juventus landed Dybala, and he netted 115 goals in 293 matches, winning five consecutive Serie A titles.
He was also part of the Argentina quad that won the World Cup last year. Meanwhile, Bony is currently without a club.
Jorginho – 2018
It may be deemed controversial to label this a mistake on City’s part, but Jorginho did have a very successful spell at Chelsea prior to his departure.
Back in 2018, the Napoli star was seen as one of the best holding midfielders in Europe, with City and Chelsea battling it out to sign him.
City believed they had agreed terms with Jorginho, but the pull of playing under Maurizio Sarri and Chelsea offering him higher wages tipped the scales in the Blues’ favour and City conceded defeat.
In his first season at Stamford Bridge, Jorginho won the Europa League, and two years later he triumphed in the Champions League as Chelsea beat City in the final.
He finished third in the race for the Ballon d’Or in 2021, while City had some issues with their defensive midfield position during this period.
Fernandinho’s City career was winding down, while Rodri took a couple of years to find his feet, as highlighted by him being left out of the starting XI for that 2021 Champions League final. If City had Jorginho in their side that night, perhaps the result would have been different.
Jorginho won the Champions League with Chelsea, beating City in the 2021 final
