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Biggest Ever Breakup

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Love affairs break up all the time but when a team like Manchester City, a club I’ve supported all of my life prepare to ditch around 13 players, all in one swoop then I suspect my affection for the club will be tested like never before.

I don’t like change, never have, never will but I understand evolution is inevitable. And now we find ourselves on the cusp of witnessing one of the biggest breakups in living memory.

Players who have revolutionised MCFC since the Premier League was created have come and gone, but the current crop of first teamers, who have won league titles, FA Cup and League Cup medals have, in the main, grown old, too old some say to compete with the physical demands of day-to-day life as a top level professional footballer.

Guaranteed goodbyes

I can safely say the five players currently farmed out on loan, Joe Hart, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony, Eliaquim Managala and Jason Denayer will be picking up their respective MCFC P45s as soon as it is humanly possible. Having said that, if there was one player I could save, then without a blink of an eye my decision would be the one, the only Joe Hart. At the same time Pep should consider sending Claudio Bravo back where he found him. Sadly, my wish will not see the light of day.

Seven are out of contract this summer

Yaya Toure, Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Jesus Navas, Willy Caballero and highly-rated youngster Tosin Adarabioyo have yet to be offered new deals, and if I’m honest all seven of them need to be, if they haven’t already be on the phone to their respective agents about sorting out possible deals elsewhere.

Except for Tosin, who I seen little, the rest have proved genuine servants. I love them all but they will be resigned to the City history books this summer. No doubt in my mind whatsoever.

Pep has a reputation of only wanting small squads to work with and so it’s fair to say there will be others who will be joining the ‘biggest ever breakup’. Vincent Kompany being one. His perpetual injuries have dogged our club captain all season, and so don’t be surprised, even though his contract runs until 2019 to see him playing elsewhere next season.

I now feel as though I’m a doom-monger – sorry!

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