Now that the news everyone was waiting for has been announced, Manchester City have been found guilty on "almost all charges" of breaking Premier League financial rules, with their "sham contracts" exposed after they were caught disguising more than £830 million in secret funding.
These payments occurred between the years 2009 and 2018. During this time, Manchester City were one of England's most dominant sides, winning four Premier League titles within that period and signing key players like Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker. Let's take a look at some of those players who City signed from under Chelsea's noses and possibly could have ended up at Stamford Bridge.
1. Sergio Aguero
The player who arguably has one of the Premier League's most iconic moments with his title-winning goal against Queens Park Rangers in 2012 could have actually happened in royal blue instead of sky blue.
Before his move to Manchester City in 2011, Chelsea pursued the Argentinian whilst he was still at Atletico Madrid in 2009, with the young striker catching Chelsea's eye when he scored twice against them in a Champions League fixture in a 2-2 draw. During his career in Manchester, Aguero was constantly a thorn in Chelsea's side, scoring 15 goals in 19 Premier League appearances against the Blues.
But it wasn't down to a lack of trying from Chelsea, with them putting in a £30 million bid, which was well below Atletico's asking price, as there was no possible way of getting Aguero. Chelsea settled with signing Daniel Sturridge from Man City and Fernando Torres from Liverpool.
2. John Stones
The centre-half joined Manchester City from Everton in the summer of 2016, for a fee of £47.5 million after a summer of speculation. Stones joined City instead of going to Chelsea, with Jose Mourinho pursuing who many believed to be England's next best centre-back as someone who could replace long-standing club legend John Terry.
Stones handed in a transfer request to join Chelsea and link up with Mourinho, but Everton rejected the move after the Blues had three bids rejected at £20m, £26m, and £30m. At the time, Stones was the world's second most expensive defender.
In his 10 years at City, Stones won 19 major trophies and made 293 appearances. Stones' failed move to Chelsea put the club in a hole, failing to find a consistent centre-back for several years, with Chelsea fans always wishing for what could have been.
3. David Silva
The Spaniard signed for Manchester City from Valencia in the summer of 2010, for a fee of around £24 million, which over time has become one of the Premier League's biggest bargains, with the Spaniard becoming a prominent figure as one of the best players in the Premier League.
When on international duty with Spain during the 2010 World Cup, Chelsea were sniffing about for the Spaniard's signature, with even Silva at the time setting his sights on joining Chelsea, praising their rise in European football and their elite squad.
When Silva decided to join Manchester City, it shook many people, as they thought Silva would be on his way to Stamford Bridge, joining the likes of Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, and Ramires in Chelsea's midfield. If they were able to get the deal over the line, then who knows what Chelsea could have won.
4. Benjamin Mendy
Mendy was part of the Monaco side that shocked the footballing world, getting to the semi-finals of the Champions League and winning Ligue 1, full of players who have now gone on to have very successful careers such as Kylian Mbappe, Fabinho, and Bernardo Silva.
During the summer of 2017, Mendy was one of Europe's most sought-after full backs, and ultimately settled on joining Manchester City at the end of Pep Guardiola's first season, but not without Chelsea trying to hijack City's deal.
Reports emerged after Mendy's £52 million move to the Etihad that he intended to join Manchester City only after working under Guardiola. The reason behind Chelsea chasing after Mendy was to have competition for Marcos Alonso, who had just had an impressive season as Chelsea won the league under Antonio Conte.
Add us as a preferred source on Google