Manchester City have produced a significant number of world-class players over the course of the years, though not all of them have risen to prominence at the Etihad stadium
For every Phil Foden, there are numerous examples of other Manchester City academy students who go on to build successful careers at different clubs.
We've looked beyond the commonly acknowledged names associated with Manchester City and identified seven players who, despite not being widely recognized as household names, gained notable fame as cult heroes with other clubs.
Jadon Sancho
Sancho solidified his position as one of Europe's most thrilling young players during his tenure with Borussia Dortmund.
He seemed set to remain the one who got away, but his struggles at the red half of Manchester mean that few at Manchester City look back with regret at allowing him to join a competitor.
Far from the search for objective assessments in England, and with his heroics at Dortmund becoming increasingly distant memories, Sancho is currently struggling to maintain a consistent level of performance at Chelsea.
Brahim Diaz
Diaz's market value has doubled since the beginning of the 2023-24 season.
Upon the heels of a couple of impressive loan appearances with AC Milan, the Real Madrid playmaker appeared to be a transformed player upon his return to the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 24-year-old was on the entire four years at Manchester City, yet he made a total of only 15 first team appearances before leaving in 2019.
“This is the happiest day of my life, I couldn’t have gotten a better gift for the Three Kings celebration [January 6 in Spain],” Diaz stated to journalists after agreeing to a £15 million deal with Real Madrid five years ago.
I had three options after deciding to leave Manchester City. One, play at Real Madrid, two, play at Real Madrid, and three, play at Real Madrid. The only other destination was impossible to consider.
Aleix Garcia
Garcia made eight first-team appearances under Pep Guardiola, including his Premier League debut against Bournemouth in September 2016, but was a frequent loanee before leaving for Dinamo Bucuresti in 2020.
In 2021, he spent around six months with Eibar before returning to Girona, one of the clubs where he was on loan.
Following the Catalan club's qualification to the Champions League for the 2023-24 season, Garcia subsequently joined Bayer Leverkusen, where he has since become a key figure in Xabi Alonso's team-under the guidance of head coach Xabi Alonso.
Jack Harrison
Harrison had his formative years at Liverpool and Manchester United before making his breakthrough at New York City FC, where he was signed by the team in 2018.
They were unable to get the midfielder on the first-team squad at the club, although he gained a significant following at Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa, earning praise for his dedicated efforts and his knack for scoring goals.
Aaron Mooy
Mooy started at City at the same time as Guardiola, but he never made a senior team appearance.
The Australian midfielder was initially sent on loan to Huddersfield Town, and subsequently signed with the club permanently in the following summer.
Mooy likely didn't possess the skillset to succeed at the elite level, but he has had a successful career in the top league.
Mooy announced his retirement from professional football this summer, following spells with Brighton, Shanghai SIPG and Celtic.
Tom Dele-Bashiru
Dele-Bashiru joined the City academy as a young player and spent a total of 14 years with the club before leaving in 2019.
He managed to make one appearance prior to his departure as he appeared in the 2017-18 EFL Cup quarter-final match against Leicester City.
Since leaving City, the Nigerian midfielder has been a part of Watford's roster and has made steady progress over the past two years.
He has become a vital member of Tom Cleverley's team as they pursue promotion this season.
Michael Olise
Olise had a quite impressive career as a youth player, to say the least. He trained at the academies of Arsenal, Chelsea and City, but it was at Reading where he experienced his major breakthrough.
Now widely regarded as one of the most talented playmakers in the game, Manchester City likely regrets not having him on board at his earlier stages.
Numerous top clubs were actively pursuing his signing over the summer, but Bayern Munich succeeded in outbidding the competition to secure him for a €60 million transfer fee. He's also been respectable in his time in Germany.