Man City's Stars Could Flee: The Shocking Destinations Awaiting Their Top Talents If Relegation Strikes

Manchester City find themselves in a strange chapter of Premier League history, hovering in limbo between verdict and punishment.

Recent reports indicate the "most likely" outcome for City following their financial misconduct (with an appeal still pending) is a "swingeing" (read: enormous) points deduction that would essentially seal their relegation from the top division.

Notably, there are reportedly no relegation clauses in any City player contracts, which will make for some uncomfortable conversations with agents in the weeks and months ahead should that punishment materialise. Even so, it's virtually unthinkable that Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki would be playing Championship football next season, and the club's biggest names will already be mapping out their escape plans.

Next summer could then witness the largest mass departure of elite players from a single club in one transfer window since Juventus shed the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimović, Fabio Cannavaro, Patrick Vieira, Lilian Thuram and others in the summer of 2006 following the Calciopoli scandal.

But where might City's key stars land? Let us play transfer matchmaker.

Gianluigi Donnarumma

Bayern Munich are arguably the only elite club in need of a world-class goalkeeper in the near future, with the 40-year-old Manuel Neuer's deal set to run out next summer. Time to start fitting some extra-long lederhosen ahead of next Oktoberfest.

Ruben Dias

A top-quality centre-back edging towards his mid-thirties? Sounds like the perfect acquisition for Inter Milan, who could reunite the old guard alongside Manuel Akanji and John Stones.

Marc Guehi

Is Liverpool too predictable a destination? With Virgil van Dijk's contract expiring next summer, it would make sense to dust off those signing posts the social media team quietly shelved last year.

Josko Gvardiol

Barcelona have been near-flawless in 2026–27, but one (very) minor concern is defensive depth. Bringing in a top-tier operator like Gvardiol would bolster both the left-back and centre-back options.

Nico O'Reilly

No club stockpiles Man City academy products quite like Chelsea. It's written in the stars.

Elliot Anderson

Setting aside the romantic notion of a return to Newcastle, a soft-hearted Liverpool side could really do with a midfield enforcer of this quality.

Ayyoub Bouaddi

Has anyone ever screamed PSG more?

Rayan Cherki

Well, actually yes — and it's Rayan Cherki. PSG go back for seconds.

Enzo Fernandez

There are precious few realistic destinations for a player of Fernández's profile in today's market. The box-to-box midfielder famously told a group of YouTubers he'd love to settle in Madrid, while Real Madrid took the unusual step of publicly dismissing a transfer last summer.

Fernández (wisely) never specified which club in the Spanish capital, however. A switch to Atlético Madrid might be his best bet to avoid a fate of playing second fiddle to Ivan Toney in the Saudi Pro League.

Phil Foden

🎶 I will go down with this ship... 🎶

Foden stays.

Jérémy Doku

Doku possesses all the trickery, pace, and end-product qualities that Arsenal appear to lack in attack, and would be a marquee signing for the reigning Premier League champions.

Ilman Ndiaye

Like that episode of The Simpsons where the real Seymour Skinner shows up, we simply pretend none of this ever happened: straight back to Everton. No questions asked.

Antoine Semenyo

Unai Emery could certainly benefit from additional quality wide options to elevate his Aston Villa side following the summer's fire sale... provided they can absorb the wages without edging dangerously close to their own financial troubles.

Erling Haaland

Barcelona or Real Madrid? Why not stage a one-off Clásico playoff to settle it, with the 6'5" Norwegian perched coyly on a plinth in place of a trophy?

In reality, Madrid surely can't squeeze yet another superstar striker into their dressing room, however much Florentino Pérez enjoys playing Galáctico Tetris with his squad. Barcelona did want a centre-forward this summer — until Raphinha transformed into peak Ronaldo.

If neither club is truly interested: might we tempt you with a sentimental return to Leeds United, Erling?