5 world-class players Manchester City missed out on

#3 Kaka

Kaka chose to join Real Madrid over Manchester City

Manchester City did not shy away from flexing the size of its purse after being taken over by the Abu Dhabi consortium. At one point, however, the Sky Blues did not have much to offer apart from fat paychecks.

It didn't always work as some players also considered factors like the club's legacy, their chances of winning the title and their long-term future before solidifying the move. In 2009, City could not boast of any of these.

At the time, Inter Milan's Ricardo Kaka was nearing the end of his illustrious AC Milan career. The Ballon d'Or winner was wanted by all the top clubs in Europe and Manchester City missed out on having him at the Etihad.

Kaka was offered a stunning £500,000/week contract and seemed convinced of City's future plans. However, the Brazilian rejected the money to join up with Real Madrid.

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#2 Ryan Giggs

Giggs joined Manchester United on his 14th birthday

Ryan Giggs is considered by many to be the poster boy for club loyalty. His long stint at Old Trafford has made the Welsh international symbolic with the name — Manchester United. While it is nearly impossible to picture Giggs in any other jersey, he could have donned a Sky Blue kit at one point.

Though it sounds bizarre, Giggs' Manchester City move almost happened when he was a 14-year-old. Manchester City scout Dennis Schofield spotted the talented boy and recommended him to the club. Giggs started training with the youth team and soon played for them in a weekend tournament.

The talented youngster grabbed eyeballs and couldn't be missed by Manchester United's scouts. The Manchester City scouts were confident about having Ryan Giggs with them in the longer run. Nevertheless, as a present for his 14th birthday, Giggs received Sir Alex Ferguson and his team at home. Giggs confirmed his loyalty to the Red Devils that day.

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#1 Harry Kane

Harry Kane rejected Manchester City's offer at the start of the 2021-22 season.

Harry Kane is infamous for scoring the most number of goals without securing a title. Many have accused Kane of wasting his talent by staying put in London. With the amount of talent he has, Kane should have had numerous trophies under his belt already.

The Englishman was close to leaving Spurs on a couple of occasions but was never as much as ahead of the 2021-22 season. Pep Guardiola identified Harry Kane as the ideal man to replace their lethal striker Aguero.

The England captain considered the offer but remained at Spurs out of loyalty. City would go on to sign Jack Grealish that summer. Meanwhile, Kane has continued his trophyless run at Tottenham this season.