Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne is set to make his 422nd and final appearance for the club when they conclude the 2024-25 Premier League season away against Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
The 33-year-old playmaker announced last month that he will be bringing the curtain down on an illustrious 10-year career as a Citizens player when his contract expires at the end of the season.
De Bruyne bid an emotional farewell to Man City supporters after making his final Etihad appearance in an important 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
Across their 145-year history, Man City have been blessed with a plethora of superstars including De Bruyne, who is regarded by many as the club’s greatest ever player.
With that in mind, Sports Mole has taken on the difficult task of selecting an all-time Man City XI.
DEFENCE:
The man tasked with standing between the sticks is German shot-stopper Bert Trautmann who overcame prejudice and hatred from the Citizens faithful to establish himself as one of the club’s finest goalkeepers, making a total of 545 appearances across an impressive 15-year career between 1949 and 1964.
Trautmann’s most iconic moment came in the 1956 FA Cup final when he miraculously inspired Man City to a 3-1 win over Birmingham, despite being knocked unconscious and breaking his neck following a heavy collision 17 minutes from time.
There is a strong argument to be made that Kyle Walker is not only Man City’s greatest right-back but also the best in Premier League history. The 95-cap England international was known for his blistering pace, admirable athleticism and an insatiable competitive streak in his prime.
Walker has won 17 trophies with the Citizens, including six Premier League title and one Champions League as part of a historic treble in 2022-23, while he was also named in the PFA Team of the Year three times during his eight-year spell at the Etihad, which is expected to come to an end this summer.
Every defence needs a leader and there have not been many more greater at Man City than Vincent Kompany who was one of the finest central defender of the modern era during his 11-year career at the Etihad between 2008 and 2019.
Now in charge of Bayern Munich, Kompany was an integral figure at the heart of Man City’s backline during a hugely successful period for the club and he made a total of 338 appearances, winning 12 trophies including four Premier League title, four EFL Cups and two FA Cups.
Lining up alongside the Belgian in our Citizens XI is hardman Mike Doyle, who is still fondly remembered to this day 40-plus years on since he last donned the sky blue shirt over 560 times between 1965 and 1978.
A proud “City fanatic”, Doyle understood exactly what it meant to represent the club he loved so dearly and he was a key part of the Citizens side that transformed from Second Division title winners to European Cup Winners’ Cup champions during a memorable period for the club.
Completing our back four is Glyn Pardoe, Man City’s youngest ever player who made his debut aged 15 years, 364 days and was morphed into an exceptionally talented left-back after beginning his career further up the pitch.
Pardoe spent his entire 14-year career at Man City, one which was cut short due to injury, and he was part of a successful Citizens side that won five trophies, including the aforementioned European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1970.
MIDFIELD:
Mike Summerbee is still to this day a hugely popular figure at Man City where he scored 67 goals in 452 appearances across a legendary decade between 1965 and 1975, and provided the glitz and glamour that his close friend George Best gave rivals Man United across the city.
Now an ambassador at the club, the £31,000 signing from Swindon Town played an integral role in helping City win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, the First Division title, the FA Cup, the League Cup and two FA Charity Shields.
Summerbee’s service to the club has been honoured with a statue outside the Etihad where he stands alongside two more iconic stars, including ‘the King of the Kippax’ himself – Colin Bell – who was arguably the club’s finest player during the successful mid-1960s period.
A majestic, versatile midfielder in his prime, Bell made 501 appearances for Man City across a magnificent 13-year career at the club, scoring 153 goals, and City’s No.8 shirt will forever be associated with the 48-cap England international who also has a stand named after him at the Etihad, emphasising his legendary status at the club.
Another beautiful midfield maestro to watch was David Silva, aptly nicknamed El Mago (the magician) after developing into one of the most masterful, elegant and technically gifted playmakers in Premier League history.
Silva recorded 77 goals and 136 assists in 436 appearances for Man City and was a hugely influential figure in the Citizens side that won four Premier League titles, five League Cups, two FA Cups and three Community Shields between 2010 and 2020.
Our Man City midfield cannot be complete without assist king Kevin De Bruyne, arguably the club’s greatest player and one of the best midfielders to have ever graced the Premier League, a competition he has won six times and in which he has registered the second-most assists (119).
The Belgian playmaker was at the heart of Man City’s success under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola: the ‘Centurion’ season (2017-18), the ‘Fourmidables’ campaign (2018-19), the historic treble-winning season that included the club’s first ever Champions League triumph in 2023, while also winning an unprecedented fourth successive PL title in 2023-24.
ATTACK:
Along with Summerbee and Bell, Francis Lee is one of the iconic figures from the past who has been honoured with a status outside the Etihad and he sits third on Man City’s all-time scoring charts with 148 goals in 330 appearances between 1967 and 1974.
Lee, who was labelled by legendary manager Joe Mercer as “the final piece in the jigsaw” when he joined City as a £60,000 club-record signing from Bolton Wanderers, scored a penalty in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1970.
Lining up alongside Lee is Man City’s all-time record goalscorer Sergio Aguero, who made the net ripple 260 times in 390 games, most famously scoring THAT stoppage-time winner against QPR to help the Citizens pip Man United to their first Premier League title in 2012.
The prolific Argentine scored at least 20 goals in eight of his 10 years at the Etihad and won 14 major trophies, including five PL titles and five EFL Cups, while he is one of three players in the club’s more recent history, along with Kompany and Silva, to be honoured with a statue.
SPORTS MOLE’S ALL-TIME MAN CITY XI
Sports Mole’s all-time Man City XI (4-3-1-2): Trautmann; Walker, Kompany, Doyle, Pardoe; Summerbee, Bell, Silva; De Bruyne; Lee, Aguero
