Pep Guardiola has had more hits than misses in the transfer market since taking over as the Manchester City manager in 2016.
However, some of Pep Guardiola‘s recent signings for Manchester City have been questionable to say the least.
Who knows, the likes of Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku may well come good somewhere down the line.
In the here and now though, Pep needs to oversee a big shakeup regarding player recruitment at The Etihad this summer.
Manchester City could be in line for a staggering £189 million windfall by selling and releasing up to eight players this summer.
And Pep will be hoping to bring in some truly elite players to give everyone at the club a real lift.
However, did he allow one former City star to leave the club too soon?
Ppe Guardiola dropped Riyad Mahrez clanger
Riyad Mahrez racked up an incredible 78 goals and 56 assists in 236 games for City.
He won four league titles, two FA Cups and a Champions League during his time at The Etihad, amongst other trophies.
However, his time with Pep came to an end around 19 months ago.
Mahrez joined Al-Ahli out in Saudi Arabia for around £30 million in the summer of 2023 (Sky Sports).
However, the general consensus is that Pep maybe should have fought harder to keep him at The Etihad.
Mahrez is scoring goals and assisting for fun in the Saudi Pro League.
Sure, he’s 34 now, but he never relied on blistering pace anyway.
Since joining Al-Ahli, the 97-capped Algeria international has bagged a super impressive 25 goals and 27 assists in 68 games (Transfermarkt).
Riyad Mahrez / Sadio Mane / Roberto Firmino comparison
Now, you may say that the standard of football is incredibly low out in Saudi, and Mahrez should be recording those kind of numbers.
So let’s compare him with Sadio Mane, who’s two years younger by the way. He has 28 goals and 21 assists in 83 games for Al-Nassr – three less goal involvements than Mahrez in 15 more games!
What about Roberto Firmino?
The 33-year-old Brazilian has bagged 19 goals and 14 assists in 62 games for Al-Ahli.
Maybe it’s not as easy as you might think to rack up numbers like Mahrez has.
Considering Manchester City’s struggles this season, it’s hard to argue that someone like Riyad Mahrez wouldn’t have been a huge help for Pep Guardiola.
The Spaniard has always allowed players who wanted out to leave, but maybe the Algerian is someone he should have fought to keep.
