Manchester City: From Kane to Guimaraes — five players Guardiola craved but could not land

With Pep Guardiola set to leave Manchester City this summer, we look back at the five players the Spanish boss wanted to sign but never managed to bring to the club.

Guardiola spent ten seasons on the Manchester City bench between 2016 and 2026, delivering an extraordinary haul of titles — six Premier League crowns and, most notably, the Champions League.

Throughout that era, the former Barcelona boss was given the financial backing to implement his ideas on a grand scale. Guardiola is the biggest-spending manager of the past decade, with more than £1.7bn (€2bn) invested across 73 signings. The club's hierarchy gave him most of what he asked for, but not everything. Here are five players Guardiola wanted who never signed for Manchester City.

Paqueta and Guimaraes: the two Brazilian midfielders Guardiola craved

In recent years, Guardiola developed a clear soft spot for Brazilian midfielders. Lucas Paqueta came extremely close to joining Manchester City from West Ham United in the summer of 2023 for more than £68m (€80m), only for the deal to collapse due to a sports-betting investigation.

In subsequent windows, Guardiola pushed repeatedly to sign the former Lyon man as the natural successor to Kevin De Bruyne, but it never materialised.

At Newcastle United, Bruno Guimaraes was another target, particularly after Rodri's ACL injury left a gaping hole in the middle of the park. 'I have always been a huge fan of Bruno', Guardiola said in November 2025.

'Since his time at Lyon you could see he was a special player. Newcastle made a brilliant signing. He is an idol there.' For all his admiration, the Argentine never made it to the Etihad Stadium.

Jorginho, Fred and Harry Kane: the ones that got away

Earlier in his Manchester City tenure, ahead of the summer of 2018, Guardiola earmarked Jorginho and Fred to strengthen his midfield. The Italian was widely reported to be close to joining from Napoli for £43m (€50m), only to end up at Chelsea instead. 'For Jorginho, it would have been a mistake for him and for us if he had decided to come here when he wanted to go with Maurizio and Chelsea', Guardiola later acknowledged.

As for the Brazilian Fred, he had caught Guardiola's eye during a Shakhtar Donetsk 4-1 Champions League victory, with a deal of around £34m (€40m) discussed. Manchester City ultimately chose not to follow through after attempting to negotiate the price down, and it was rivals Manchester United who stepped in to pay £50m (€59m) for his services.

In attack, Guardiola dreamed of signing Harry Kane in the summer of 2021. Manchester City made a serious attempt to recruit the Tottenham Hotspur striker, but the north London club refused to sell. 'We tried to sign Kane', Guardiola confirmed. 'But Tottenham were clear it was not going to happen.'

With his technical quality, back-to-goal ability, clinical finishing and influence on the collective game, Kane appeared to tick every box for what Guardiola required. Yet like the four others on this list, he never pulled on a Manchester City shirt.