by Back in 2016, Manchester City’s Under-18s had an exciting attack consisting of Phil Foden, Brahim Diaz and Jadon Sancho. One is already a Champions League winner, and another will follow on Saturday night.
Add Felix Nmecha, who graduated from City’s Football Academy a year or two later than the more recognizable trio, and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, and there will be four City representatives in Saturday’s showpiece at Wembley.
City released Nmecha in 2021 to boost his career prospects, and his progress at Wolfsburg and Dortmund may be a sign that they could earn some profit from him. Sancho’s trail has been well documented, making the jump to Dortmund where he made his name, before an ill-fated move to Manchester United and now a loan move back to Germany. City made a profit of around £20m during his post-City career.
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Bynoe-Gittens swapped City for Dortmund in 2020 and has featured in all but one of his side’s 23 Bundesliga games this season. Then there is Brahim Diaz, the closest player of the three to breaking into Pep Guardiola’s first team, after Foden of course. Diaz made 15 appearances for Guardiola, scoring twice and delighting the Etihad crowd in chanting his name after scoring both goals in the Carabao Cup win over Fulham.
There was great hope as Foden successfully broke into the first team, and it was clear that Guardiola liked the young Spaniard, but as Foden found out the competition was fierce in the wings for City. He started just four times, all in the League Cup, averaging just 27 minutes over his 15 outings in Sky Blue. He also performed well on pre-season tours, which strengthened his bond with Guardiola, but added to his belief that he should be playing more.
While Foden remained confident in Guardiola, Diaz took a similar approach to Sancho a few years earlier. He wanted to play more and made his feelings known. With his contract expiring in 2019, Diaz held off on an extension, seeking assurances over playing time.
City were willing to risk him leaving for free, but they were also aware of his value. And Guardiola wouldn’t be forced to play anyone more or less than he wanted.
“My advice is if he doesn’t want to stay, he has to leave,” Guardiola said as he pulled out of the contract. “Brahim’s case is very simple: we want him to stay, we want to extend his contract for four or five years and we will do absolutely everything to keep him here but, as I said before, it is in his hands .”
By publicly telling Diaz to leave, even though there was a caveat that he wanted him to stay, Guardiola had called the clutches of youth. Sign the contract or go, but the manager’s position would not change. Diaz chose to leave.
With the January transfer window approaching in 2019, Diaz made a high-profile switch to Real Madrid, earning City an initial £15.5m, rising to a potential £22m. City also inserted a sell-on clause of 15 percent of his next transfer fee, or 40 percent if Real sold him to Manchester United. That particular clause grabbed a lot of headlines.
Diaz was delighted, and City had received a healthy interest for another graduate. “I didn’t want to go anywhere else after Manchester City: my first choice was Real Madrid, my second choice was Real Madrid and my third choice was Real Madrid,” he said after joining Los Blancos.
He wrote a heartfelt farewell to City, thanking the club for welcoming his family to Manchester and “for believing in me because they taught me not only to be a better player but a better person”. He added: “And thanks, of course, to all Manchester City supporters. I’ll never forget my name being chanted from the stands the night we beat Fulham in the League Cup.”
Guardiola moved to protect City’s image after another big name left the academy, painting the deal as a bonafide success story. “We protect him, before we get to this period – it was the same with Jadon and Phil. But he has to make a decision and it’s not more than that,” he said.
“They can’t say we didn’t do everything to take care of them, him and his family – like a person, like a person, like a footballer. We can’t push more than we pushed with Brahim, for example, or with the others they come as young children, but the market is the market.
“What can we do? More than we have done? There is no way. The club did perfectly in every situation but the desire is the desire. Maybe they will show that they are going to play and that They believe in other places they’re going to play. Maybe, maybe we won’t see.”
After Diaz’s departure, Guardiola offered a parting gesture, telling the youngster that his assessment of his situation at City was not as simple as he made it out to be. “I don’t want people who don’t want to stay here, join us and try to achieve what we want,” said the manager.
“If players want to stay, the door is always open for them. We did the same with Brahim as we did with Phil and Jadon. They are important players but Phil was the only one who decided to stay.
“Players win opportunities on the pitch. You have to look at every big club in Europe how many young players are in their first team. Young players need time – David Silva, for example, he went on loan to big clubs. be as it is now.
“Some players have patience, some don’t. The players, their family, their agent; they decide what’s best for them.”
Initially, Diaz looked to have justified his decision to leave, making six appearances in the second half of the campaign for his new club, earning a La Liga winner’s medal in the process. But he had a difficult first full season, spending the next three years on loan at AC Milan, with the Italian side having an option to buy him permanently for £18m, although Real could then buy him back for £23m .
As it turned out, Diaz’s loan proved successful, scoring 18 goals and recording 15 assists in 124 appearances, and he returned to Real a better player as well as a Serie A champion – his third league title in as many countries.
He signed an extension with Real on his return and has successfully reintegrated himself into Carlo Ancelotti’s side this term. He scored a decisive goal against Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana and a crucial winner of the last 16 of the Champions League at RB Leipzig in a Man of the Match performance.
Diaz received a good reception when he returned to the Etihad for the quarter-final, and will now be hoping to play some part in the final, most likely from the bench. If he adds the Champions League to his collection, he will feel that his decision to leave City was the right one – even if he has taken the long road to success at Real.
