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The Manchester City of today has become more synonymous with spending fortunes on new players – but is wasn't always this way.

In fact, the reigning Premier League champions have made incredibly good use of the free transfer market in times gone by.

And Mirror Sport has broken down some of the finest frees to join the club's ranks over the years, from Champions League-winners to rival recruits out of Old Trafford.



Man Utd turncoat trio

For a club that was routinely mocked as Manchester United's "noisy neighbours" of old, luring star names from Old Trafford was considered something of a coup for City.

Fulham wanted desperately to keep the striker after a successful one-year stay at Craven Cottage, but he instead returned to the north west and scored 10 times in 23 outings for the Sky Blues before joining Portsmouth for £500,000.

Hargreaves didn't achieve nearly as much for United – albeit winning the Premier League and Champions League – but has nonetheless been decried as a traitor by many among the Old Trafford faithful.

We got £400,000 from Manchester City for a player we never actually signed – and that's the truth."

What's even more bizarre is the fact Gartside was wrong by all accounts, with a Premier League investigation finding Hamann was registered as a Bolton player on July 1, 2006.

To their credit, City spotted something in Geovanni that other Premier League sides failed to notice until it was too late

He spent a brief time on the books with Barcelona and Benfica before City signed him on a free, having been turned down by Portsmouth following a trial.

Yet despite a very promising start for City, scoring in early fixtures against Man United and West Ham, he was let go after a single season
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