Three worst signings made by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City

Bengaluru, Nov 25: Pep Guardiola has certainly established his place as one of the greatest managers in the modern era of football and his name will be written forever in Manchester City's history books for what he has managed to achieve at the Etihad since taking over the club in 2016.

However, the Spaniard has also been a manager who has always divided opinions of the neutrals due to the staggering amount of outlay on players. The Catalan manager has spent whooping sums of money as the Manchester City boss and to be fair, it has paid great dividends as seen by his dominance domestically with the club winning two Premier League titles and one FA Cup among numerous other honours.

However, despite spending millions, Guardiola's signings have not always been spot on and in this article, we will take a look at three of the worst signings made by him at the Etihad.

3. Danilo

One of the most bizarre signings made by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City was Danilo who was snapped up from Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2017. The Cityzens simply did not needed a right-back as they already had Kyle Walker and the Brazilian could therefore could not establish himself as a first-team regular.

However, in two seasons for the Sky Blues, Danilo still managed to make 60 appearances. He was shipped off to Juventus in 2019 in another bizarre signing that saw the Cityzens bring in Joao Cancelo in exchange of Danilo plus cash.

2. Nolito

One of Pep Guardiola's first few signings as the Manchester City manager was Spanish forward Nolito who was signed from La Liga side Celta Vigo. The 34-year-old had very little impact at the Etihad and could last for just one season at the club. The 34-year-old made just 30 appearances for the Cityzens after which he moved back to Spain.

It was claimed that the Spaniard and his family were unsettled by life in England and were not comfortable in the country. Since his return to Spain, Nolito has been a pretty serviceable forward for Sevilla and Celta respectively.

1. Claudio Bravo

The first decision Pep Guardiola made after taking charge at Manchester City was to bin club legend and then England number one Joe Hart as he believed that Hart did not suit his style of play. Hart was particularly not known for his sweeping ability and in order to bring that, Guardiola brought in Claudio Bravo from Barcelona for a reported fee of £17 million. But, the move simply did not work out with Bravo having a torrid time at the Etihad, with his first season being especially awful.

He was soon relegated to the bench, though he did produce a match-winning performance against Liverpool in the 2019 Community Shield. The Chilean goalkeeping legend signed for Real Betis following his contract expiry at Manchester City.