Man City's Final Team Before The Sheikh Mansour Takeover: Where Are They Now?

#6 Stephen Ireland - Bolton Wanderers

Manchester United v Stoke City - Premier League

Stephen Ireland was brought up through the youth academy at City and given his first real chances in the 2007-08 season, when he was 21-years-old. He played the most games that season out of all the players on this list (50).

Ireland managed to stick it out at City for two years following the takeover, despite the sheer volume of high-profile players vying for his spot in the team. He had to work hard to keep his place, but ultimately lost out and had no choice but to move elsewhere.

Ireland joined Aston Villa in 2010 for £8.5m, but failed to find his feet. He was sent out on loan to Newcastle for a year where he made slightly more impact, enough for those at Villa to give him another chance. But it wasn't to be. Once more he was loaned out, this time to Stoke City for a year, from 2013 to 2014, before being sold to them for free in January 2014.

It was at Stoke City where Ireland had his most fruitful spell. He remained with the club for four years and often featured in the line-up as an attacking midfielder. In the summer of 2018, his contract expired and he found himself without a club for a few months, before Bolton Wanders swooped in.

Ireland remains with Bolton, who are in the Championship.