Ten signings that really did the Etihad Stadium boss no favours.
10. Jerome Boateng
The £10million signing from Hamburg arrived as a great prospect, but failed to adapt to English football. The 24-year-old has since gone on to establish himself as a regular for both Bayern Munich and Germany, despite only making 16 appearances in a disappointing spell for City. A talented player no doubt, but not a signing that worked out for Roberto Mancini.
9. Owen Hargreaves
This controversial move did not turn out to be worth it for Roberto Mancini. Brought to City on a free transfer from rivals Manchester United, it was hoped that the former England midfielder could revive his career after an injury-plagued few years at Old Trafford. However, he made just one league appearance for the club and was released again immediately after. The 32-year-old has not since managed to find a new club, which suggests this project by Mancini was a big waste of everyone’s time.
8. Stefan Savic
The young defender was signed from Partizan Belgrade for just £6million, but ended up looking a total flop at Manchester City. He spent just one season at the club in their title-winning year, but made a number of poor individual errors that saw him quickly shipped out of the club at the end of the season. One positive to come from this move was that City then included him as part of a swap deal to bring the far more talented Matija Nastasic to the club from Fiorentina.
7. Edin Dzeko
Despite the occasional good run of form in front of goal, the former Wolsburg striker has definitely not looked worth the £27million that Mancini paid for him in 2011. The highlight of the Bosnian’s career at City will no doubt be his four-goal haul against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, but more than anything he will be remembered for looking slow, sluggish and missing a number of easy sitters in front of goal.
6. Maicon
The Brazilian defender was a great player for a few years at Mancini’s old club Inter Milan, which presumably moved the Italian coach to sign him for City, but it came a few years too late as the 31-year-old is clearly past his best form. He has been unable to force his way past Pablo Zabaleta in City’s staring lineup, and has looked a strange and unnecessary signing.
5. Scott Sinclair
Roberto Mancini admits himself that he got this one wrong. The Italian signed the winger from Swansea on the back of a good season at the Liberty Stadium, but has hardly given him a chance to impress at all. The 24-year-old has made just 11 league appearances, mostly short cameos from the bench, and no one really knows what Mancini had in mind with this transfer at all.
4. Jack Rodwell
The 22-year-old seemed a strange signing from Everton. The young midfielder undoubtedly has talent, but was a poor choice by Roberto Mancini considering his terrible injury record. These fitness problems have followed him from Goodison Park to the Etihad Stadium and he has made just 10 appearances for the club this season, which is not a great return when you spend £15million on a player.
3. Aleksandar Kolarov
The £16million signing from Lazio has to go down as a poor piece of business by Mancini. Despite his knack for free-kicks and long range shots with his powerful left foot, the Serbian has not looked up to coping with the pace of the English game, and is not really good enough defensively. He has found himself mostly behind Gael Clichy in the pecking order this season, and will probably move back to Serie A this summer.
2. Samir Nasri
Definitely a mistake that has gone on to haunt Mancini – £25million for Samir Nasri from Arsenal has not been worth it at all, with the French winger showing a tendency to hide away in big games and generally be unreliable in providing the numbers of goals and assists you would expect from an attacking midfielder. Arsenal fans are laughing, and on this occasion they certainly were the winners despite what seemed like another high-profile departure from the club.
1. Mario Balotelli
The controversial Italian may have scored 13 goals in their title-winning campaign last season, including two important strikes in the memorable 6-1 thrashing of rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford, but the £20million signing from Inter Milan will be remembered more for his disciplinary problems on and off the pitch, which often infuriated his team-mates and manager. Mancini finally gave up on him this January, selling him to AC Milan, but it definitely took him too long to realise Balotelli was a lost cause.