Getty In the last 25 years, the Cityzens have risen from a laughing stock to become the top club in England – but who have been their best performers?
Manchester City began the 21st century in the old Division Two, playing in the ramshackle Maine Road. Many foreign football fans did not know who they were, to the extent that their hated rivals United were simply known as 'Manchester' outside of England. What a difference 25 years can make.
City are now the undisputed top club in the country, amassing a joint-best eight Premier League titles since 2000, including each of the last four, plus three FA Cups, six League Cups, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. They call one of the finest stadiums in the country their home and will soon be playing in front of 60,000 people each week.
In Pep Guardiola, they have undoubtedly the greatest coach of the modern era, if not all time. And for the last 15 years, they have been able to count on an incredible squad, including numerous World Cup winners and the very latest holder of the Ballon d'Or.
So as we mark the first quarter of the current century, GOAL ranks the players who have been responsible for City's sustained success, from their current global stars to those who represented the club in a darker era and helped lift them skywards…
