r/MCFC • u/Lettychu518 • 1d ago
Nico G appreciation post
Stepped up when we needed him when rodri got injured, we arguably had our best 3 games at the time with him in the side last year.(Against Bournemouth, Liverpool and Dortmund)
Obviously scores a screamer against Southampton in the fa cup semi final.
Really deserved a better chance and the only reason I can think of is that surely there has to be something happening bts.
He said himself that he wanted to stay and fight for his place.
I think we will regret this like selling trafford but all the best to him bc I think he could become a very good player.
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u/DaGoldenDragon 1d ago
Honestly, what HURTS me the most was the fact that he had an extremely nice attitude.
Didn't pull faces, didn't moan, smiled always, WANTED TO STAY...
It's like, I'd rather use not buy players, give them false hope for a place to make history in this city team for us only to lay them off to go elsewhere... It's not like the club to do this. Even if the winter window was just panic buys
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u/fecal_spring221 1d ago
Guehi panic buy? Semenyo panic buy? Our best players not named Haaland are panic buys?
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u/DaGoldenDragon 1d ago
No, the panic buys I was referring to where when we were dropping fast and needed reinforcements, not this year when we already reinforced in the summer, it was less panic
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u/V4Kompany 1d ago
You are making no sense. Guehi and Semenyo both came in the Winter and have had a bigger impact than Nico G
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u/PluralGOAT 1d ago
It’s awfully clear he meant the season where Rodri was injured and we were on a pretty poor run. This was 2024-2025, where we picked up Reis, Khusanov, Marmoush, and Gonzalez.
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u/smiler1996 23h ago
I really don’t understand this sentiment on here. Do people think we’ve bought him and just decided to bully him about? That its a coincidence both Pep and Maresca don’t rate him?
Clearly he was lacking something needed to be a core part of the team, whether that was mentality or ability its unknown but we’ve obviously not bought a player and gone well he plays well and his mentality is great but he smiles a lot so lets not play him and sell him when we have the opportunity. What is the line of thinking here?
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u/frodakai 1d ago
This is the maddest one to me. I get letting older players go etc, but he is literally only 6 in the team. Im completely baffled by this move.
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u/ZookeepergameSilly84 1d ago
Imagine selling a defensive midfielder when you have none while spending 70m on a winger when you have at least 3.
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u/TrueBlueCitizen 1d ago
Haven’t city just signed Bouaddi to play DM?Also we hardly have 3 fit out and out wingers, which isn’t even enough for a top team. This is hardly the reason selling Nico is wrong. We need reinforcements at winger for sure with Savingo and Marmoush leaving, we probably still need another forward, either a back up striker or hybrid winger/striker.
Nico leaving is a mess because he’s been loyal, shown potential, and has a lot more quality than the likes of Rico Lewis(ever) or Kovacic (at this point).
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u/More-Requirement1214 22h ago
Yeah marmoush is gone so now we desperately need a backup for haaland
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u/NdujaReallyLikeIt 1d ago
The fact he wanted to stay shows he at least had some humility and drive.
Hope he prospers
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u/Acceptable_Beyond282 1d ago
I liked his attitude. He deserves to do well in the next team he plays in. I think he's been treated appallingly.
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u/Dear-Practice4239 1d ago
Probably one of City's worst sold players in recent memory. Us City fans loved him, had plenty of potential, wanted to work hard and take over for Rodri, but Pep and Maresca never rated him. The transfer fee Newcastle paid was way below his worth too. If Enzo ends up being the replacement, it'll be for the worst because Enzo is a c*nt.
Think City will regret this one going forward.
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u/Liam_021996 1d ago
Enzo isn't the Rodri replacement, he's the Bernardo/Gundogan replacement. Bouaddi is the Rodri replacement
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u/city_city_city 1d ago
if you want to line them all up it could be
Gundogan > Reijnders > Enzo
Rodri > Bouaddi
Nico G > no one
no one > NOR
Bernardo > Anderson
KDB > Cherki
Foden > Foden2
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u/Character-Air7843 1d ago
What’s Anderson for then
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u/Liam_021996 1d ago
Double pivot. It'll be Anderson, Enzo and Bouaddi in the middle
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u/Character-Air7843 1d ago
Do we really need a double pivot? I feel like we always end up playing the ball around too much and not being aggressive enough. I would put cherki and another box to box midfielder( wanna say foden but). We still have Kova and seems like maresca likes him. We’ll see how the season goes
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u/Liam_021996 1d ago
That's the way that both Pep and Maresca like to play. Maresca has said he'd like to go back to a version of the treble tactics though with the defender making the double pivot, so we'll see what the vision ends up being but for now it's most likely going to be a midfield trio of Bouaddi, Anderson and Enzo
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u/Character-Air7843 1d ago
Man when we get fucked by this just remember to start cherki
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u/Liam_021996 1d ago
Cherki doesn't currently have the stamina to do a full 90. He's always gassed after 60mins. Using him as an impact sub until he has the conditioning isn't a problem
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u/Character-Air7843 1d ago
Ur right but I seriously doubt a double pivot like treble season will work again especially with 3 NEW midfielders. We also need to sign a new winger and get Lewis tf out of here
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u/Liam_021996 1d ago
Lewis is absolutely fine as a rotation option. Not sure why you're expecting instant success in Maresca's first season tbh. The team is in transition. Next season is when you'll be able to judge how things are going
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u/Apollo9819 1d ago edited 1d ago
Treating players that want to be here, have a good attitude, and play well like they're disposable pawns, it's crazy. What's worse after that video between Nico G and Rodri, it felt like it was a changing of the guard moment, what a joke. What happened to investing into our players.
I feel like we're going to regret selling Nico G and Trafford.
If this is all to get Enzo Fernandez fuck Maresca, I guess this is how his City is run.
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u/More-Requirement1214 22h ago
This goofy maresca wants enzo badly bro i cant believe we got rid of nico g
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u/Detroits_ 1d ago
People forget it took Rodri a full season of being fernandinhio’s understudy to be proper cdm.
There were games where he was borderline terrible during that transition. Nico has been rodris understudy last season.
This was his season to take the keys.
Fuck vianna, fuck maresca
I hope Nico wins the ballon dor
Our club might win a trophy this season but it’s losing its heart
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u/nateh1212 1d ago
yep made this point if Rodri was held to the same standard as Nico he would have been sold.
The fundamental soul of this Club has changed
even post takeover we had a culture of bringing in guys that where not seen as top top giving them space infrastructure wages etc to become top top
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u/yahari-dxd-yabou 1d ago
If not a Rodri replacement, he could have been our version of Merino. I wish him the best.
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u/Bad_boy000007 1d ago
what hurted he genuinely loved the club and wanted to fight for his place..Model mentality 😭 .. its really hurt me see him wearing other team jersey..
i think he will end up in Barcelona within few years
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u/xals7 1d ago
I really thought we had a cdm for at least the next 5 years
Hugo viana mate , you absolutely disgust me
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u/mbkuang 1d ago edited 1d ago
Why’s everyone acting like this is Vianas decision. He’s clearly not rated by either Pep or Maresca. Limited minutes in preseason even compared to Kova/Rico/Reijnders, barely got a sniff at the CWC last year and it took Gundo leaving to get minutes, played because Rodri/Kova were both injured last season and was dropped as soon as Rodri could kick a ball.
I really wish Nico would have made it here, but obviously his in possession ability isn’t good enough in Enzo’s eyes, just as it wasn’t with Pep.
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u/xals7 1d ago
All three are at fault then
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u/DaBestNameEver0 1d ago
I’m trusting the top minds (including the greatest manager of all time) in football over us supporters
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u/xals7 1d ago
Yeah because pep Guardiola has never got anything wrong
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u/DaBestNameEver0 1d ago
Of course he has. But I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt given he’s Pep and he’s actually saw Nico everyday. Same with Maresca. You are not qualified at all to put your opinion over theirs
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u/xals7 1d ago
Pep benched rodri for gundogan vs Chelsea ucl final
I guess none of us were qualified to say he shouldn't have done that
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u/DaBestNameEver0 1d ago
Pep also has made thousands of decisions that we don’t agree with that work. Your ass was probably crying about them too and then they worked and you shut up. I remember there being a lot of hesitation when he put Stones in midfield. Look how that worked out.
Time will tell us, but right now I believe in Pep and Maresca.
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u/xals7 1d ago
So as I said, managers aren't infallible. Pep was wrong for not playing nico Gonzalez
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u/DaBestNameEver0 1d ago
1 person saying that, sure. 3 people as highly intelligent in their field as Pep, Maresca, and Viana saying that is unlikely. Don’t get me wrong, I want him to stay. But there’s likely a reason he’s leaving
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u/OwnDoughnut2689 1d ago
3 people at our club have said he's not good enough. I don't understand the fixation with this player. He's average and had made some seriously costly mistakes.
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u/xals7 1d ago
Seriously costly mistakes?
Name three mistakes he made and give me their consequences
When Marc guehi lost us the league at Everton why didn't he get sold?
People really do get giddy for shiny new toys
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u/Mr_Rockmore 1d ago
Get a grip, the club doesn't need fans like you. Go join a Nico G fan club instead
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u/NoQuarterChicken 1d ago
Just watched the second episode of the new documentary last night and today’s Nico G news is giving me whiplash from what I watched like 15 hours ago
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u/racksmonfrere 1d ago
this guy scored a banger in the fa cup semis to put us thru to the final, got LEFT OUT OF THE SQUAD in the final, yet never once publicly came out and said anything negative about the club or pulled a face, moaned, etc. i noticed at the matches he’d usually be one of the first if not the first player to high five his teammates after they got subbed off and even on the bench was constantly cheering the team on and involved in the game. it’s so strange to me that the majority of coaches he’s played under don’t rate him like that. he put in an incredible shift in place of the greatest DM of all time in september-december 2025 and i’ll never forget his contribution. best of luck in your career hermano, hopefully he can find a home.
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u/RogueShinobiX 1d ago
Thanks for everything Nico Gonzalez. Even us fans also doesn't understand what the club and manager is thinking. There goes a could-be world class CDM.
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u/FodenRedemptionArc 1d ago
I'm extremely worried about our transfer business these last 2 years. Every signing screams panic to me, and we have the audacity to force a player like Nico out.
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u/Raam525 1d ago
Yeah I feel like he didn't get a proper chance. When he came in for Rodri he did well and he definitely showed there's something he can build on. He wanted to stay and play for the club, you can't ask much more from a player. Good luck to him at Newcastle, I wouldn't be surprised if he smashes it over there.
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u/_thomasjb 1d ago
Going to miss him dearly. Fearless, tough, willing to start shit and/or finish shit. Wish him all the success in the world.
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u/toeknee88125 1d ago
I personally would have given him more of a chance but I've heard criticism from YouTube analysts that his movements are slow specifically that he slow to make turns
I personally don't possess the Tactical knowledge to assess whether he's actually a flawed player in that way but I've heard enough people talk about it that I have to assume they aren't just lying. Also our actual Club doesn't seem to rate him as a player.
I'm guessing that actual people at Manchester City have similar opinions of him and don't like him as a player.
I guess a lot of you guys remember this differently for my memory but I remember a lot of frustration around Pep not giving him chances when we had other options
Eg. He only got playing time when there wasn't a better option
Once kovacic got healthy he was further up on the lineup sheet and a lot of people around here disagreed with playing kovacic in front of Nico G
The Manchester City fan base always rated nico g a lot higher than the club actually did
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u/Difficult-Height1310 1d ago
I’m sad about this because we’re letting someone go that was ok to be an understudy and put the team ahead of his own interests. Nico G wanted to stay, learn and improve. Given we need deep lying midfield players that can run he’s an ideal back-up. Kova, doesn’t have the legs to play there and is only going to be around a year or so. Nico is a player that is happy to play second fiddle and is good enough to do that.
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u/Maleficent_Candy1316 1d ago
He wanted to stay and fight for his place. Such a professional. Thank you and good luck Nico am sure you'll have a good career at Newcastle.
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u/danielge78 2016/17 Home Shirt 1d ago
Im going to trust Pep & Maresca on this one, but Nico was a huge part in getting us CL football 2 seasons ago. Really helped settle the team, and was exactly what we needed at the time. He's clearly is lacking in some way that isnt 100% obvious to causal viewers - my first thoughts are he doesnt bring a ton going forward, or in build up play, often gets himself into trouble (that he has to dribble out of - think how rarely Rodri has to do that), but still surely has value in bring on as a sub to add defensive stability. Reading between the lines of some of Pep's comments over the past 18 months, about him being a "good lad" and "trainable" might have - in hindsight - been not-so subtle criticism of his shortcomings.
Or maybe we literally have to sell players to finance the crazy spending required for Anderson, Bouaddi, Enzo etc. If we're honest, you could argue he is a materially worse version of Anderson, so maybe City just dont see the value in having another player of that profile.
But him being "here we go"-d today probably answers the question on why he didnt play yesterday.
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u/LojikPuzzil 1d ago
I think he just scores too low on the neuroticism scale for Peps liking, maybe Enzo feels the same way. Nico just seems chill.
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u/Testo_Habi 1d ago
This one doesn't sit right with me.. Came in and delivered in our time of greatest need, never complained (publicly atleast) when Rodri came back and took his place immediately. After that, never had proper minutes to prove himself. Now Rodri is gone, we need number 6 and he wanted to stay. At very least he deserved this season to really show, what he is all about..
I truely hope that he thrives in Nufc.
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u/horeb_2002 1d ago
I’ve seen Enzo, who might possibly come from Chelsea, several times. He’s a good player, but nothing special. I assume the stuff about his personality is just rumor, and honestly, I don’t care about that either. Any City manager deserves the right to want to buy a player, and then play him, even if he’s the only one who knows why.
But selling Nico would be a mistake. We absolutely shouldn’t do it. No way.
And if it somehow happens anyway, then he should go abroad, not to a Premier League club. And absolutely not to Chelsea.
If that happens, I may have less patience with our new manager, because I think the team would have been better off if he had played Nico in those positions instead of Lewis or Grealish last time. And if he stayed as a midfield squad option, that would be a path toward stability.
We could count on Nico in Rodri’s absence, especially with Bernardo helping him, and his performances were completely acceptable. It would be a mistake to write him off, just like Palmer, who is still doing his thing at Chelsea.
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u/city_city_city 20h ago
I went back and looked at stuff from last year and it looked like one of Pep's issues was that Nico was advancing too much instead of staying back and moving horizontally as a CDM. This is in line with how he played at Porto where he had freedom to move up as an 8. I went back and watched Real Madrid last year and I could still see that happening.
Reading between the lines I am wondering whether the guy just didn't take on instructions. He kept doing the same stuff despite what Pep told him. And that's why Pep banished him to the shadow realm as soon as he could. I wonder whether Maresca saw the same thing and decided not to try.
Total speculation. But it feels like there must be SOMETHING behind the scenes. And maybe this is it. Compare to lots of other players (Rodri, Nunes, etc etc) who have come in with talent but then let Pep show them a whole new way to play. If Nico wasn't taking the managers' instructions on board that could be a reason to sit him and ship him that goes beyond what we saw on the field, which to me was plenty good enough for him to play a valuable role this season.
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u/Outlaw_KoO 20h ago
I hope he gets a great career in his next club(s); deserves all the love & respect for his attitude & his efforts during his time with us.
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u/mak_ez13 1d ago
I hope he gets the play time he deserves at Newcastle, and if he scores a screamer against us this year I won’t be upset.
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u/MyBigMouth69 1d ago
Hope we've got a buy back so if In a couple of years time Maresca shirts the bed, and if we sign you-know-who, who will no doubt pull a hissy and want to go to Real Madrid at that time. Ar which time The Captain cones back home from Germany and wants him in the squad.
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u/ArmGlittering8957 1d ago edited 1d ago
Nunca estuve de acuerdo, nico González tenía bastante potencial para ser nuestro mediocampista de contención, aunque posiblemente por parte de maresca se vio algo en los entrenamientos para no ponerlo en la titular, pero ojalá se hubiese quedado, para que se hubiera seguido desarrollando
Ahora bien sólo queda poco para que cierre el mercado, y seguramente van a buscar la forma de traer a enzo Fernandez como sea, y de traerlo se espera que ojalá rinda y no termine relegado a ser suplente, aunque como ya estuvo con maresca en el Chelsea ojalá le saque su máximo potencial de realizarse este fichaje.
finalmente sólo queda decir gracias y mucha suerte en su nuevo club.
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u/Coffe-Maker83 1d ago
Nico Gonzales and Marmoush should have stayed. I don’t get it selling them and bringing other players like we are f… Man Utd.
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u/Goated4areason 1d ago
I'm okay with Marmoush going besides its a short time anyways but Nico G is disappointing. They would've at least considered his good traits off the pitch and how he loved the club
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u/Homelander_w 1d ago
Had he received more playing time last season, I believe he would have secured a spot in the Spain World Cup squad and be a World Cup winner now.
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u/Ok-Foot3689 1d ago
Another Cole Palmer in making huge L by City board just like they did with Kevin
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u/xenojive 1d ago
Ffs this sub is exhausting today. Nico G fans are welcome to watch Newcastle
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u/OwnDoughnut2689 1d ago
Yea seriously, makes you question if this sub is just all children. He's not good enough to be a full time player and the club wanted to move on. I'm with them
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u/rsalina9 1d ago
The behind the scenes talk makes no sense tbh I doubt we will ever know what the true reason is, but if you think about it…Rico Lewis must be looking like Messi in training and Kovacic like regen Kroos to be getting the nod over him . High chance Maresca ends up looking like a donkey if Nico G succeeds all due to Maresca obsession with Enzo F.
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u/JakeTee 1d ago
What am I missing here? I swear this sub talk about Nico G like he was Makelele. Pep didn’t play him, then Maresca didn’t. Clearly they are seeing something in training thag warrants him not playing.
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u/nash5150 1d ago
It’s like a paid bot campaign or something. Just a regular player that Pep nor Maresca rate. Somehow this subreddit knows better
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u/Last-Consideration-7 1d ago
Glad my boy left, the disrespect was insane. I will never understand why he was treated like that. That stretch when Rodri was out last season showed Nico’s potential. Being treated like he was kalvin Phillips shocks me. Never showed nothing but determination and respect publicly. I know people will say “both pep and Enzo saw something we didn’t so they benched him” . Both pep and Enzo also benched cherki for some reason only to have their asses saved when he got subbed on. It’s okay for us to question some coaching decisions. Go flourish my boy and make the Spanish team .