No member of Manchester City’s current squad was signed during the period in which an independent commission found the club guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations. Those offences all came between 2009 and 2018, and City have denied any wrongdoing and appealed against all of the charges.
A reader asked which current players have been at the club longest, and the answer starts with captain Ruben Dias. The Portuguese centre-back joined from Benfica in 2020 and has made more than 250 club appearances since. He is the club’s longest-serving first-team player who was purchased from another club.
Longest-serving signings
Erling Haaland is the next longest-serving arrival. The Norway striker joined from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022.
Academy products
Phil Foden is the only player who featured for the club during the period in which it breached the league’s financial rules, but he was not a senior signing. The 26-year-old came through the club’s youth ranks and made his first-team debut in a Champions League match against Feyenoord in November 2017.
Like Foden, versatile midfielder Rico Lewis is a product of the academy. He did not make his senior debut until August 2022.
Recent arrivals
All of the club’s other senior players were signed between 2023 and 2026.