The last Man City XI that included Vincent Kompany - Where Are They Now? | OneFootball

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Vincent Kompany’s date with destiny was confirmed during June’s fixture release for the upcoming 2023-24 Premier League season, pitting the Belgian’s recently promoted Burnley against a club that he’ll hold dearly in his heart, Manchester City. Hosting Guardiola’s men at Turf Moor in this season’s Friday night curtain-raiser, the rhetoric around the master and his apprentice taking each other on has definitely been bandied around.

While the pair have already met before on the touchline, with City running out 6-0 winners in an FA Cup tie last term, the City icon will be hoping their imminent meeting is on a more even playing field this time around. It’s been four years since Kompany decided to call time on his City career, bidding his side farewell on a high by stuffing Watford 6-0 in the 2018/19 FA Cup final. A lot has changed since that day in May 2019, but where are the teammates that took to the field with Kompany on his final appearance for the club now?

Ederson Moraes

It’s been that long since Kompany retired that the Brazilian shot-stopper was literally sporting a brace last time they played together. City’s inked-up number one has been a mainstay in the blue half of Manchester for six years, and after keeping a clean sheet in the Belgian’s final run-out, the goalkeeper has since kept 66 clean sheets in the Premier League, a remarkable record that equates to almost two seasons not conceding a goal if they were a solid block of games. The Brazil international is one of few players that played that day in May 2019 that is still playing for the Sky Blues.

Kyle Walker

The right-back has been a loyal servant to the City cause. His six years of service and having represented City over 250 times, as well as captaining them on several occasions, has firmly made his case as a club legend. Now 33 years old, Walker is still a fixture at the club, and despite rumours of him potentially being offloaded this summer, with Bayern Munich interested, he could still play an invaluable role in this City side going forward.

Vincent Kompany

Seeing out the full 90 minutes in a glittering career all while keeping a clean sheet in a 6-0 win is what you call bowing out in style. Vincent Kompany’s final game characterised his career in Manchester, winning everything, with only the Champions League eluding him. His leadership skills have extended beyond captaincy, with him now about to embark upon managing in the Premier League.

Aymeric Laporte

Aymeric Laporte remains a City player for the time being. However, the Spaniard has been rumoured to be pushing for a move away from the North West following a season distinctly lacking in game-time opportunities. A player of his imperious talents at the back would be guaranteed a starting berth in most elite sides, but Rúben Dias, John Stones, and Manuel Akanji’s form is such that Laporte featured sporadically last term, appearing in just 24 games across four competitions last term. He now as Josko Gvardiol to contend with for a starting XI berth, too.

Oleksandr Zinchenko

An evidently well-liked character in the Manchester City dressing room, the cheeky smile and charismatic nature of Oleksandr Zinchenko would have been massively missed in the Manchester City squad after leaving during the summer 2022 summer transfer window. Linking up with the familiar face of Mikel Arteta, Pep’s former assistant, at Arsenal, the left-back is now doing his level-best to try and instil as much of the Pep philosophy as possible in north London. No doubt he's made a positive impact so far, with the Gunners unexpectedly emerging as City's biggest competitors in the title race last season.

Bernardo Silva

Bernardo Silva was voted lifelong Man City fan Noel Gallagher’s Player of the Season following the conclusion of the 2019 campaign, so, while it’s not quite the Ballon d’Or, it’s still glowing praise considering Gallagher is a man notoriously hard to please. The midfielder has spent a large portion of his career at the Etihad, and was one of Guardiola’s first signings when he joined the Cityzens. Now 28 years old, Silva has risen through the ranks as one of the babies in the team to one of the club’s senior figures and was a cornerstone of the side that won the treble during the 2022-23 season. Having made over 300 appearances for the Sky Blues, the midfield man has recorded over 100 G/A for the club, and has certainly cemented a City legacy that in the words of Liam and Noel will “Live Forever”.

Ilkay Gundogan

In a new era of true greatness at the club, it’s only right that the elected captain reflects the stature and talent of those he leads out onto the field. While Ilkay Gundogan only got the privilege for one campaign, it was a season that will be immortalised in not just Man City folklore, but football as an entity. The German led his team to a historic treble, a feat that hasn’t been achieved by an English side since Manchester United in 1999. Leading from the front, the silky midfielder netted twice in the FA Cup final and contributed 18 G/A in the 51 games he featured in last term. Since Kompany’s departure, the German international has hit an immense tally of 304 appearances for the club, and like his predecessor, bowed out on a high, heading to Barcelona following City’s Champions League triumph.

David Silva

Alongside Kompany that day, was David Silva, Man City’s second longest-serving player, and the only other remaining member of that venerated Premier League-winning squad in 2012. The left-footed magician was distinguished when it came to operating between the lines, and would run games like that of Xavi and Iniesta. Silva oozed class, and his deft touches, feints, and drop of the shoulder were hallmarks of his dexterous, unmatched ability at dictating a game. The World Cup-winning Spaniard went on to play another 41 times without his Belgian pal, before heading back to Spain to sign for Real Sociedad in 2020. Now 37, the midfielder was left devastated by a serious knee injury, and was consequently forced to retire from the sport. While having to hang up his boots on terms he wouldn’t have deemed his own, the player can decamp knowing his career was an emphatic success, having won 11 major honours with the Sky Blues.

Raheem Sterling

“Raz” as his teammates affectionately call him, seems to have been around the game for an eternity. The razzling, dazzling winger shot onto the scene at the age of 16 while at Liverpool. A player who has very much grown up in the public eye, even to the extent of being lectured by Brendan Rodgers on TV, he's become an almost permanent feature in the England side, and is well on course to smash the caps record. Still only 28, the player is an inductee in the Premier League 100 Club, and has made well over 500 appearances in his career thus far.

The 2018/19 was a career-best season for the player, who registered a remarkable 42 G/A return in just 51 games. Having left the Sky Blues in the 2022 summer transfer window, heading back down to West London to link up with Chelsea, the player will always be a welcome face up in Manchester.

Riyad Mahrez

Before making the life-changing decision to join Leicester, the Algerian was a relative unknown. After spearheading the Foxes' title assault in 2016 and demonstrating unequivocally, that he could play in the Champions League the following season, Man City pounced, bringing the player to the Etihad in 2017. Initially of the slow-burning disposition, Mahrez began to crank up the volume on his output in a Man City shirt, and had tallied an impressive 26 G/A in 41 games in his debut season. With 147 G/A during his six years at City, the player opted for a move away to Saudi Arabia, where he’ll reportedly be making an eye-watering £865,000 a week.

Gabriel Jesus

With Sergio Aguero sitting this one out on the bench, Gabriel Jesus led the line as the youngest player on the pitch for Guardiola’s side at just 22 years old. The dynamic Brazilian’s time at City was characterised by him being deployed as more of an impact substitute, but that didn’t stop him from making an impact against Watford, with the forward bagging a brace. Along with Zinchenko, Jesus would seek pastures new during the 2022 summer transfer window, making the trip over to the capital to join the Gunners in a £45 million deal. While he certainly didn’t turn water into wine while wearing the Sky Blue of Man City, he was a saviour on many an occasion when called upon.

Subs Bench

John Stones - Still at City and a pivotal player in Pep's inverted full-back system that confounded opponents en route to the treble last season

Leroy Sane - Left for Bayern Munich where he's picked up three consecutive Bundesliga titles

Kevin De Bruyne - Remains City's lynchpin and will be more important than ever this season without Gundogan in midfield

Sergio Aguero - The last man standing from City's fab four. Aguero finally left in 2021 for Barcelona, but injury forced him into retirement after just months at the Nou Camp

Nicolas Otamendi - Joined Benfica in 2020 and has since won the Portuguese title. Was also part of the 2022 Argentina World Cup winning squad