Manchester City: Citizens release four veteran players ahead of offseason
By Larry Henry
Manchester City began their off-season on Thursday, by releasing four veteran players from the squad.
Pep Guardiola waited only five days until he announced some roster changes to his squad for the future. Veterans Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Jesus Navas, and Willy Caballero all were released on Thursday, signaling changes are quickly coming at the Etihad.
32-year-old right back Pablo Zabaleta, who spent nine seasons with the club also signed a two-year deal with West Ham United. Zabaleta made 230 appearances with the club since joining from Espanyol in 2008. During his time in Manchester, Zabaleta scored nine goals including two this season.
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Sagna, 34, finished his third season with Manchester City, making 25 appearances this season. In his time with the club, Sagna chipped in four assists and was a valuable option at right back, rotating with both Zabaleta and most recently Fernandinho.
Clichy, 31, had joined Manchester City from Arsenal in 2011, making 138 appearances in six seasons. Rotating with Alex Kolarov, Clichy scored three goals with the club, including two this season. With Manchester City battling for the services of Monaco wingback Benjamin Mendy, Clichy seemed the odd one out at left back.
Caballero was brought in during the 2014 season, after playing under former manager Manuel Pellegrini at Malaga. Making 47 appearances in three seasons at the Etihad, Caballero will surely be remembered for his huge penalty saves in the 2015-16 League Cup final against Liverpool.
He made 27 appearances across all competitions this season, splitting time with the up-and-down Claudio Bravo.
Navas, 31, joined Manchester City in 2013 from Sevilla. In his first season in England, Navas scored six goals and added 13 assists across all competitions. Since then, Navas has struggled to find the back of the net, only scoring two goals in the last three seasons combined.
The Spanish winger added pace and creativity to the City line-up, but was more so a substitute option with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, and even Gabriel Jesus all taking up the wide positions. In 35 appearances in 2016-17, Navas only recorded two assists and truly struggled with his final product on offense.
With the recent acquisition of Monaco’s Bernardo Silva on Friday, Navas would have struggled for playing time with several younger and durable options in front of him.
With four players already released from their contracts, it shows Pep Guardiola will look to bolster the squad for next season. Silva is an excellent signing, who has improved every season for Monaco. Helping the Municipality side to their first Ligue 1 title since 2000, the 22-year-old netted 11 goals and added 12 assists across all competitions this past season.
The Portuguese international brings another element of creativity to the City line-up, while also showing a bright future ahead.
Next: Manchester City Transfer Evaluation - Part 3 (Right-Back)
As the summer months draw closer and closer, expect Manchester City’s roster to change even more in preparation for next season.