Man City Transfers: 10 Players Screwed By Citizens’ Ludicrous Transfer Policies

7. Roque Santa Cruz

After impressing for Blackburn Rovers by scoring 23 goals in 57 league appearances, Roque Santa Cruz was snapped up by former Rovers manager Mark Hughes during his spell in charge of Manchester City in 2009. City paid a reported £17.5 million for the striker's services as they looked to establish themselves as Premier League challengers following the Abu Dhabi United takeover the year prior. The likes of Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor had also arrived at Eastlands that summer however and it turned out they had too many cooks. Cruz was thus scarcely used by City and made only 19 league appearances in his debut season. He made fewer outings still the following season - one in fact during the 2010-11 campaign - following the appointment of Roberto Mancini as the axed Hughes's successor. Cruz was deemed surplus to requirements under Mancini and found himself bouncing up and down the continent on loan at a variety of clubs, including Malaga, until as recently as last year. Mancini's harsh reluctance to give the Paraguayan a chance at Etihad Stadium despite having barely seen him play destabilised Cruz's career, and they might have sorted out his future sooner instead of effectively sending him out on loan for three years. It was a farcical end to the South American's stay in England and he surely deserved better.