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Soccer
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An immaculate Etihad goalkeeping hierarchy, nearly picking Maicon by accident, an underwhelming Pep Guardiola raid of Bayern Munich, a capable midfield wardrobe, the one turn-of-the-2010s Englishman they didn’t sign, the Messi/Ronaldo dilemma, Hulk tearing up the Premier League from the right-hand side, an agonising choice for No 9, and one charming man to lead them all.
Adam Hurrey is joined by David Walker and James Maw to sift through dozens of names in a bid to pick apart Manchester City's various transfer strategies from 2008 to the present day - from the early post-takeover splurges to the relentless squad-refining of the Guardiola era - and select a lineup of players who somehow slipped through the Etihad net.
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"The "Somehow Never Played For Abu Dhabi-Era Manchester City" XI" is an episode of Football Cliches. Runtime 1 hr 20 min. Published October 8, 2026. Hit play above to stream it here, or open the free Spot Sports app for background play and offline downloads.