Etihad exit for trusted Pep Guardiola success story shocks ex-Man City man
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(Credit: Imago, ESPN)
Oliver Walton
Sun 7 September 2025 15:21, UK
Pep Guardiola has caused major surprise after he sanctioned the Man City exit of a player that he has relied on heavily over the last few years late on in the summer window.
Man City needed to make some drastic changes to their squad in the summer after last season’s collapse and ultimate failure to win a trophy.
They moved quickly to land their top targets, with Rayan Cherki joining Man City from Lyon alongside the likes of Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri and James Trafford from AC Milan, Wolves and Burnley respectively, while Gianluigi Donnarumma then arrived late on in the window in a surprise deal from PSG.
Pep Guardiola had to let some of his trusted servants go to balance the Citizens’ squad, so Ederson departed after eight years at the club to join Fenerbahce, and Ilkay Gundogan left for the second time to join Galatasaray after Kyle Walker had been allowed to leave on loan to join Burnley.
Those players will likely be more missed off the pitch than they would have been for their exploits on it, but the club did also let one player go who ex-City defender Nedum Onuoha felt was liked by Guardiola and could have continued to have a real impact.
Credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media
Manuel Akanji left Man City to join Italian giants Inter Milan on deadline day, with a season-long loan deal with a €15million (£13m) buy option clause that becomes an obligation to buy if he plays 50% of thei games this season [Fabrizio Romano].
Akanji was a key part of City’s treble-winning side of 2022/23, as he made 48 appearances that season, while he also played in the same amount of games in 2023/24 before featuring 40 times in all competitions last campaign.
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Former Citizens defender Onuoha expressed his shock at the decision to let Akanji go while speaking on ESPN FC Extra Time on Saturday (6 September), insisting that he believed the Switzerland international was a favourite of Guardiola’s, and so thought there would still be space for him in his squad.
Credit: Imago
After being asked why he thought City wanted to get rid of Akanji, he said: “Yeah I was surprised at that to be honest, especially given the fact that he can play at right-back, he’s obviously done very well at centre-back, and it’s looked in the past like Pep has trusted him.
“This is somebody that started the Champions League final over Kyle Walker…so yeah, I was quite surprised.
I think he’s a solid player to have in that set-up, and he has also been somebody who, not as often as John Stones, but would dip into midfield as well.
“I am very surprised, but I think for the size of the squad that they have, someone had to leave, and maybe in the end it had to be one of those right-sided players because they seemed to have the balance elsewhere.”
Football Insider verdict
Akanji was always a decent performer for City, and his impressive versatility saw him consistently relied on by Guardiola to plug gaps in his defence over the last few years when needed.
It is surprising to think that the club were open to his exit all summer, with Football Insider revealing in August that Man City were ready to accept an offer for Akanji amid interest from Tottenham, but it obviously took some time for his move to Serie A to eventually materialise.
AppearancesGoalsYellow Cards136514Akanji’s Man City career stats
Guardiola might be regretting his decision already, after John Stones was forced to pull out of the England squad earlier in the week with a muscular issue, with City now potentially left short at the back for a period of games.
Akanji would have been a great option to call upon if needed next weekend against arch rivals Man United, but the Catalan boss may instead have to pick a player like Abdukodir Khusanov, who has seriously struggled to adapt since he joined the club in the last January window.