5 huge transfers Manchester City missed out on

#3 Daniele de Rossi (from AS Roma)

Daniele de Rossi is a Roman - through and through

Ever since Roberto Mancini's arrival in Manchester, the one player he had desperately tried to sign in every transfer window was Italian legend Daniele de Rossi. Mancini was almost obsessed with the defensive midfielder and often fantasized of managing him. He believed his countryman would be the perfect fit in deep midfield for his revolutionary Manchester City side.

Three years after his arrival in 2009, Mancini really gave it his all to get de Rossi to Manchester. He was prepared to pay over £30 million for the then 29-year-old and was also willing to offer him a £130,000 a week package. Sadly, de Rossi was in no mood to relocate. If anything could eclipse Mancini's love for de Rossi, it'd be de Rossi's love for Rome.

However, de Rossi did admit a couple of years back that he considered the prospect of joining City 'interesting', though it was largely affected by his fondness for the popular rock-band Oasis, the founder members of which are lifelong City fans. Thus quoting de Rossi :

''What excited me the most about that prospect, however, was the fact I could have met the Gallagher brothers.''