Where Man City’s disastrous 2008 squad before mega-money takeover are now

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Once upon a time, Manchester City were not the global superpower that they have now become.

In fact, the Abu Dhabi owners did not purchase the club until 2008 when former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra was in charge.

The politician himself had only just bought City 15 months prior to the mega-money takeover but his short-lived era will always be remembered as a false dawn.

With Sven-Goran Eriksson at the helm, some truly bizarre names came and went before the likes of Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne moved to the Etihad.

But those superstars cannot hold a light to the real City trailblazers such as Valeri Bojinov, Elano and Martin Petrov. Here’s where they are now.

Rolando Bianchi

Once signed for £8m – a sizeable chunk back in 2007 – but ultimately flopped after moaning about the food and weather, going back to Italy on loan just months after arriving.

The Italian striker is now in the process of becoming a horse trainer and owns a vineyard after retiring from football in 2017.

Vedran Corluka

Corluka was hailed as a real coup by City when he made the move from Dinamo Zagreb in 2007 but left after just one year for Tottenham.

A long nine-year career at Lokomotiv Moscow would follow before retiring in 2021 and becoming Croatia’s assistant coach.

Elano

A true cult hero at City, though his time was short-lived after two years at the club before a failed stint at Galatasaray and a move back to Brazil.

Now aged 40, the former midfielder has turned to coaching and is doing a fine job with Ferroviaria in Brazil’s Serie D.

Valeri Bojinov

The Bulgarian must have thought he was cursed when he moved to City after two season-ending injuries in a row before embarking on a journeyman career like no one before.

In the past 10 years, Bojinov has been with 16 clubs and is remarkably still playing at the age of 35 for Septemvri Sofia.

Martin Petrov

Another to hail from Bulgaria, Petrov was well loved at City for his antics on the wing but saw his game-time diminish throughout his three-year stint to allow for the likes of Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor to play.

Moves to Bolton, Espanyol and CSKA Sofia followed while he has also played Sunday League in Manchester for Chorlton Torpedo.

Felipe Caicedo

When City signed Caicedo from Basel in January 2008, his £5.2m transfer fee made him the most expensive player from the Swiss Super League – though his performances did not back that up.

Once compared to Adriano, the Ecuador international signed for Inter Milan this year on loan from Genoa last month though he is yet to make an appearance.

Gelson Fernandes

During his two years at City, Fernandes was a regular in the side filling in for the duties that his successor Fernandinho now does for the club.

The former Switzerland international retired from football in 2020 after three years at Eintracht Frankfurt and is now the vice president of boyhood team Sion.

Javier Garrido

The Spaniard was one of the more successful imports of 2007 when he signed from Real Sociedad for £1.5m, making 55 appearances before Gael Clichy’s arrival shunted him out.

Unfortunately, he never really got back up to speed after spells at Lazio, Norwich and AEK Larnaca but has since retired.

Geovanni

Did anyone know this baller played for Barcelona?! Either way, Geovanni joined City in 2007 and was gone by 2008 – smashing the Premier League for Phil Brown’s plucky Hull City.

In a recent interview, the Brazilian looked back fondly at his time in England but after retiring aged 33 and now aged 42, a return is probably off the cards.

Benjani

Another to come and go at City for only a couple of years, Benjani quickly found himself on the sidelines with the attacking talent being brought to the club.

A spell in South Africa followed before retiring in 2014 but remains in close contact with Portsmouth – where the fans adore him.

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