Manchester City now boast “the best players in the world”, says Javi Garcia, with the Blues having acquired a number of top talents that you “have to give the ball to”.
Since the arrival of Sheikh Mansour and his billions in 2008, the Blues have made it their mission to snap up the finest talent available.
They have stopped short of matching the record-setting fees splashed out by certain European rivals, but have invested heavily in world-class performers.
That ambition has been rewarded with a steady stream of major honours, with Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola all delivering Premier League titles.
Garcia got his hands on the crown during a two-year stint in England between 2012 and 2014, with a League Cup triumph also taken in by the Spaniard.
He admits to seeing the path that City were on at that time, with Guardiola having helped to lift the club to even greater heights after piecing together a star-studded squad.
Garcia told the Blues’ official website: “I spent two years at City and it’s true that we noticed the difference in the transition from Mancini to Pellegrini.
“I will always be grateful to Mancini, who was the one who signed me (but) their ideas about football were a bit different.
“With Pellegrini, City began to forge an identity, which was to have much more of the ball, to attack more, to have the ball a lot of time in the opponents’ half of the pitch and, yes, it is true that the current City began there.
“Lately, City started to sign practically the best players in the world, players to whom you have to give the ball to because they are happy with it and they can show their full potential.”
While City remained on the trophy trail during his time at the club, Garcia concedes that a team which secured an historic domestic treble in 2018-19 have achieved “incredible” things.
He added: “What City have achieved is outstanding.
“As I mentioned before, the English league is the most difficult one.
“Being able to win it two times (in successive years) like City did is incredible. Maybe people out there do not give it the credit it deserves, but, in my opinion, City have to be very proud of what they have achieved.
“Winning is never easy, to keep winning is even more difficult and demanding.”