5 players Manchester City failed to sign under Pep Guardiola

Back in 2008, Sheikh Mansour bought Manchester City for £210 million. Mansour is one of the world's richest men, with an estimated individual net worth of £17billion. Following his arrival at the club, excellent things began to occur for City fans - they gradually joined England's elite clubs while some of the world's best players were convinced by the lucrative project being heralded in the blue half of Manchester.

More importantly, they started to win trophies and a dynasty was soon forming. In the summer of 2016, arguably the world's best manager - Pep Guardiola - joined the ranks at Eastlands. The 47-year-old Spaniard has implemented his well-known tiki-taka system, which has seen them lift tree trophies in two seasons under his management. It requires players who are well-equipped technically and with a big transfer budget to spend, he's able to sign world-class players and fit them into his first-team plans.

With that being said, not all of his transfer targets have eventually gone to join Pep's project at Manchester City. So here, we take a look at five top players who the Premier League defending champions have failed to sign since his appointment two-and-a-half years ago:

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#5 Marc-Andre ter Stegen

In summer 2016, ter Stegen was Guardiola's first wish for City's goalkeeping position

When Guardiola arrived at Manchester City, he was not satisfied with goalkeepers that the Citizens had at their disposal. Their first-choice at the time was Joe Hart. In his rigid system, the goalkeeper acts as the first line of attack, so naturally 'keepers must be very comfortable with the ball at their feet.

Hart didn't fit that playing style and despite some initial surprise, Guardiola was keen to find a top-quality replacement. He was searching for Hart's long-term replacement at former club Barcelona, with his first wish to acquire Marc-Andre ter Stegen, the German goalkeeper.

However, he refused to replace Barcelona for City and remained adamant that he'd be staying at the Nou Camp. As a result, Pep opted to sign the club's other senior goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.

Bravo endured a very disappointing debut season, tempting Guardiola enough to sign Benfica's Ederson Moraes in the summer of 2017. Since then, ter Stegen continues to prove his worth as one of the world's best and has fast become one of the first names on Barcelona's starting line-up every week.

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#4 Dani Alves

Guardiola worked with Dani Alves back during his spell as Barcelona boss

Guardiola's main problem during his debut campaign in England was the defence. The players he had at his disposal were not ready, nor good enough, to effectively answer his high demands in a new system. So at the end of that season, it became clear that he was going to embark on a shopping spree - particularly to reinforce his full-back positions.

His first wish for the right-hand side was Dani Alves, who was playing for Serie A giants Juventus at the time. Guardiola and Alves had previously worked together at Barcelona from 2008 to 2012 and the experienced Brazilian did nothing to dispel speculation surrounding a reunion.

However, a proposed transfer was said to have collapsed due to family demands. So instead, he joined Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal and Pep found an expensive alternative in England's Kyle Walker.

#3 Virgil van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk with current boss Jurgen Klopp

Virgil van Dijk is taking the whole football world by storm this season. His exceptional performances for Liverpool are a reason why many people consider him to be among the world's best centre-backs at the moment.

The Dutch captain came to Anfield this time last year for £75m - the largest transfer fee ever paid for a defender. Before the official confirmation of this transfer though, all of England's top clubs were interested in signing van Dijk, including Pep.

However, Southampton's asking price for Virgil was too high for City, something that was revealed in their All of Nothing documentary. The 27-year-old has firmly established himself as a true leader within Liverpool's backline and alongside his immense defensive skills, he's exceptional with the ball at his feet, which could have made him a perfect fit for Pep's tiki-taka system.

#2 Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez joined the red half of Manchester last January - but he could've easily been at City instead

Another player Manchester City missed signing last January is Alexis Sanchez. During that hectic winter window, the situation surrounding Alexis was very messy - he only had six months left to run on his Arsenal contract, so they were forced into selling him.

The only English clubs taking a serious interest in him were the Manchester rivals: United and City. In the end, Alexis joined United in a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan going the other way.

However, the main reason why City gave up on potentially securing this deal was the Chilean's high financial demands as well as that of his agent. Pep has since said that completing this move would have damaged the club's stability had they succumbed to the player's astronomical wage demands. With his arrival at United, he became the Premier League's highest-paid player in history.

In hindsight, perhaps Pep was right. Alexis is clearly nowhere near his best performance levels at United and is currently struggling to recapture any sort of the same electrifying form that he showed during his spell in north London.

#1 Jorginho

Jorginho followed Maurizio Sarri in joining Chelsea this summer

The most important position in Guardiola's system is the defensive-midfield area, currently occupied by Fernandinho. With the experienced Brazilian now being 33-years-old, it's clear he cannot play many more years at the highest level - not least given the relentless fixture list every season.

Pep is well aware of this fact and has already started looking for a long-term replacement. In the summer of 2018, Guardiola made clear his intentions to sign Napoli's Jorginho to act as Fernandinho's successor in that role.

Jorginho is an excellent player and has shown he is perfectly capable of playing in the regista role, yet instead of joining Pep's City, he decided to follow his manager from Napoli as Maurizio Sarri was formally announced as Chelsea's new head coach.

In a very short period since, the Italian has quickly become the centre of everything that happens in Sarriball in west London. At the beginning of this season, Guardiola said they thought the Jorginho deal was already complete - showing his frustration after the proposed £60m move collapsed.