Yes, and maybe except for Kvara, none of those would be seen as elite and our level if we’d gone for them when PSG bought them.
That’s simply not true. Most of those players were already
well-known and tearing it up at their respective clubs when PSG moved for them. These weren’t hidden gems—they were clear, standout performers. CITY had the scouting reports, the footage, the data. The issue wasn’t about visibility—it was about decisiveness, and once again, we blinked.
Perhaps they weren’t on
your radar—but they were
definitely on mine. And more importantly, they were
absolutely on City’s. We had Nuno Mendes right in front of us. Jorge Mendes literally came to City and offered him—
we had first dibs. And what did we do? We stuck with Zinchenko, despite the glaring left-back issues that had plagued us for seasons. Nuno was already head and shoulders above his age group, and we let him walk.
Hakimi? He wasn’t just a name—he was bossing it at Dortmund and Inter. His pace, output, tactical maturity—it was all there. He fit our system perfectly. And yet, we let him go elsewhere.
And then there’s Neves. Neves is even worse because it’s still
so fresh in our memory. Just a few months ago, we needed a Rodri replacement or complement, and he was sitting there, waiting for us to make a move. A teenager then, who could play as a lone 6 and completely dominate the midfield—yet we let him go. The player was ready, available, and exactly what we needed. But instead of pulling the trigger, we hesitated again, and now we’re scrambling to fill that void.
The funny thing is, we were
more informed about these players than PSG ever was. It’s like PSG was tracking what we were looking at—waiting for us to drop the ball, so they could pounce. While we were debating and overthinking, they swooped in with ruthless efficiency.
This idea that these players weren’t elite or ready when PSG moved is simply misinformed. We hesitated. PSG didn’t. That’s the difference.
