Guardiola misjudged Palmer, now valued at €120 million; Rogers was sold for €1.2 million and is currently worth €70 million.

Manchester City lost two key veterans, De Bruyne and Gündoğan, this season, but the big-money signing Reynders this summer fell short—he can run but his technical skills haven’t impressed City fans. Actually, Manchester United’s academy already had successors to De Bruyne and Gündoğan, but Guardiola miscalculated and sold them off too easily.The duo “Cold Kings” (Palmer + Rogers)The two are close friends who won many youth titles together at Manchester City, but under Guardiola they couldn’t break into the first team and both eventually chose to leave. Now Palmer is the attacking core for Chelsea, while Rogers leads Aston Villa’s attack. Both scored in this Premier League round, helping their teams secure victories.

Most people are familiar with Palmer’s story: the English midfielder left Manchester City to join Chelsea and truly began his rise as a star. Next, let’s talk about Palmer’s close friend from City’s academy, Rogers.

Rogers came through West Bromwich Albion’s academy. Manchester City signed him for €4.4 million in the summer of 2019. He was loaned to Bournemouth and other clubs for experience but never caught Guardiola’s eye. In the summer of 2023, City sold him cheaply to Middlesbrough for €1.2 million. One year later, in summer 2024, he transferred to Premier League side Aston Villa for €9.4 million, marking his rise as a Premier League star.

Now 23 years old, Rogers stands 1.87 meters tall, is right-footed, and primarily plays as an attacking midfielder. His contract with Aston Villa runs until 2031. Transfermarkt values him at €70 million. He has 12 caps for England and is a strong contender for the 2026 World Cup squad, ranking even ahead of Bellingham in Tuchel’s tactical setup. Rogers scored twice in this Premier League round, helping Aston Villa come from behind to beat West Ham 3-2, securing their 10th win in 11 league matches. This season, he has 5 goals and 5 assists in 23 appearances across all competitions, playing a key role as Aston Villa competes strongly in both the Premier League and Europa League.

Although Guardiola developed Foden, many promising City academy players have been let go. City keeps selling in every transfer window, and letting Palmer and Rogers go was truly a big loss...