🧠 Pep Guardiola's greatest Man City XI | OneFootball

Seven years, five Premier League titles, the treble.

But what is the greatest Manchester City XI of the Pep Guardiola era?

GK: Ederson

Who else but Ederson? He joined the club in 2017 — after Guardiola’s first season ended without a trophy — and hasn’t looked back, remaining number one ever since.

There’s really no competition.

RB: Kyle Walker

The right-back who can do it all, Walker’s incredible pace and impressive reading of the game has been a massive part of Guardiola’s success in Manchester.

Signed from Tottenham in 2017 as a marauding wingback, Walker has been used as the last line of defence at City. He is an incredible defender one-on-one and arguably the greatest right-back in Premier League history. Another no-brainer.

CB: John Stones

This might have been up for discussion just a few months ago but John Stones has probably played the best football of his career since the World Cup.

The centre-back has long been an excellent ball-playing defender but moments of inconsistency have troubled him at times.

Not anymore, though, and he has developed into a player so in-tune with Guardiola’s demands that slotting into midfield when City have the ball, then dropping back again when they don’t, has been no problem whatsoever and the tactical shift that has delivered the treble.

CB: Rúben Dias

OK, yes, this means no Vincent Kompany, but the Belgian’s absolute best years were arguably before Guardiola arrived anyway, right? Injuries troubled his final seasons at the club and he made just 45 Premier League appearances under the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss.

Alongside Stones, then, it’s the most pure defender Guardiola has ever coached. Dias just does not ever put a foot wrong.

LB: João Cancelo

Probably the trickiest position to fill, both for Guardiola down the years and for us compiling this XI. From repurposed midfielders Fabian Delph and Oleksandr Zinchenko, to creative right-back João Cancelo, and now a reimagined centre-back in Nathan Aké.

It’s tough between Cancelo and Aké. The former is obviously more gifted on the ball and was exceptional on his day. The latter has helped this treble side click with his no-nonsense defending.

Cancelo, despite a full from grace in 2023, just gets the nod for now.

CM: Kevin De Bruyne

This one does not need explaining. The brains behind it all in midfield, from 2016 until now.

De Bruyne scores big goals, he delivers exquisite assists, and has done it all over and over again, season after season.

CM: Rodri

Rodri or Fernandinho? Another really close call but the Spaniard, with his Champions League final heroics (and exceptional 2022/23 campaign on the whole) just pips it.

Erling Haaland aside (or maybe even if you include the Norwegian), Rodri has been City’s most important player all season, exemplified by the fact nobody else started as many as his 52 games. And though it was his best, it was by no means his only world class campaign at the club.

CM: David Silva

Ilkay Gündogan, please accept our apology. The German has been incredible over the past few seasons, whether playing deeper in midfield, linking back to front, or bursting into the box to deliver crucial goals.

But David Silva is just such a Manchester City legend and was crucial in helping Guardiola gets his ideas across in his first few seasons. His partnership with Kevin De Bruyne, with the pair as “free eights”, was formidable and he delivered the best goalscoring seasons of his career under Pep on top.

RW: Bernardo Silva

The ball sticks to his feet like nobody else. He runs like nobody else. He’s versatile like nobody else.

Bernardo Silva has been undroppable in multiple roles for Guardiola and that makes him impossible to overlook for this side.

ST: Sergio Agüero

Stop, we know what you’re thinking, just let us explain. Yes, obviously this means no Erling Haaland. And obviously we all expect Haaland to be in this team one day.

Just … not quite yet? Maybe? It has just been one season after all.

And Agüero is City royalty.

No player has scored more of City’s goals under Guardiola than the Argentine (124), who also managed an astonishing seven Premier League hat-tricks after Pep arrived at the Etihad.

For now he keeps this spot. Just.

LW: Raheem Sterling

Whether on the left or on the right, Sterling was absolutely integral in helping Guardiola’s City become a winning machine.

The Englishman would jink in and out, with the ball always under full control, and had incredible movement in the box to get on the end of cutbacks and low crosses.

His 131 goals for the club, 120 under Guardiola, included runs of 23, 25 and 31 per season from 2017-20. A truly world class wide man.