Manchester City End-Of-Season Player Ratings: 2021/2022 Campaign

In what was the most dramatic finale for a decade, Manchester City won the 2021/22 Premier League title.

Though the Champions League campaign ultimately ended in unlikely disappointment to eventual winners Real Madrid, a sixth Premier League title in 11 seasons is still a fantastic achievement made possible by the brilliance of Pep Guardiola's squad.

It's time, then, to give each player a rating based on their season as a whole.

A mark of six is considered decent, while 10 obviously means the player was close to flawless. These are unavoidably opinion-based, but we've done our best to be as fair and objective as possible.

To keep this list short, only players with at least 90 Premier League minutes for Manchester City will be considered here.

While we didn't see enough of names like Scott Carson, James McAtee or Liam Delap to hand out a fair rating, we still have 21 senior players to assess and plenty to talk about.

Without further ado, here's how we rated Manchester City's squad across another Premier League title-winning season!

Ederson - 7

The Ederson hate in sections of the Manchester City fanbase is getting a little ridiculous.

While people are often quick to tell you that he's not good enough with his hands, they usually struggle to name more than a few goals this season where the Brazilian international actually should've done better.

Ultimately, the best stops are usually the quick-reaction, starfish saves from close range shots, and well... it's not like Ederson faces many of those.

He's also made a fair few excellent saves that have sadly been forgotten against the likes of Chelsea.

Though he has produced some great saves this year, it's really his footwork that makes him crucial to Manchester City's style season after season.

A '7' is just as high a rating as I can really give a goalkeeper who usually doesn't have much to do.

Zack Steffen - 5

Though I feel a little bad giving Steffen the lowest rating in the Manchester City squad - he's a likeable guy and usually a very good goalkeeper - his role at the club means he mostly plays in games they are expected to win.

His season came down to two big moments: The penalty shoot-out defeat against West Ham in the Carabao Cup, and the FA Cup Semi-Final defeat to Liverpool.

It would be harsh to criticise him for not saving any of the five Hammers spot-kicks, but Liverpool's second goal was a howler from the USMNT star and ended up being a decisive moment.

I can't justify rating him any higher because this was a backwards step from his debut season.

Kyle Walker - 7

Even approaching 32 years-old, Kyle Walker remains one of the most important players in the squad.

His athletic ability is pretty phenomenal, but this was one of his best seasons yet on the ball, as it felt like his old misplaced passes were a thing of the past.

There was a stretch in the middle of the season where Walker seemed to bail Manchester City out on a weekly basis with his recovery pace and reading of the game.

The only reason he's not rated higher is that injuries cost him around half the season, and I still believe Manchester City would've been in the Champions League final if not for his sorely-felt absences against Real Madrid.

Joao Cancelo - 8.5

With Kevin de Bruyne missing through injury, Joao Cancelo started the season as Manchester City's primary playmaker, and he played that role to perfection.

Kevin De Bruyne certainly would have been proud of Cancelo's assist for Raheem Sterling against Everton, or his bullet of a goal against RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

His first half of the season was a 9/10, and it's only a more lukewarm second half - with just two of his 13 goal contributions coming since January - that I've marked him down for.

Meanwhile, his defensive numbers have actually been pretty good all season, despite the perception of him as a poor defender.

Aymeric Laporte - 9

There were rumours that Laporte might be on his way out of Manchester, after spending most of last season behind Ruben Dias and John Stones, but those feel like a distant memory now.

The centre-back had a few dodgy moments early in the year and has been consistently great ever since. Towards the end of the season, particularly, he put in some outstanding displays and even chipped in four league goals to boot.

It's hard to see how he won't go into next campaign as one of Manchester City's first choice defenders now.

Ruben Dias - 8

Injuries meant that Dias didn't play as much as his Spanish partner last season, but he displayed fine form whenever he was on the pitch.

Like Aymeric Laporte, he chipped in with goal contributions, and I can't argue with the multitudes of pundits that put him in their Premier League Team of the Season, even if I feel Laporte was marginally better this year.

Dias was never going to replicate the absurdly high standards of his debut year, but he still had a very solid season and helped out with a few goals and assists too.

John Stones - 7

It's hard not to feel like a consistently injury-free John Stones would be one of the best defenders in the world. Fitness problems - plus the form of Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte - reduced him to just 12 Premier League starts all season, but the 'Barnsley Beckenbauer' was close to flawless whenever he could get on the pitch.

It's particularly noticeable how physical his game is these days, and he can really bully strikers, with his pocketing of Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo being a highlight.

Nathan Aké - 7

Clearly a popular figure in the dressing room, Nathan Aké has proven to be an extremely useful squad player in his second year at Manchester City.

He's popped up at centre-back and on the left and been adept in both positions, particularly in the home fixture against Atletico Madrid and with his excellent goal-line clearance against Arsenal.

Oleksandr Zinchenko - 7

This was actually the fewest Premier League starts Zinchenko has made since his first season at the club, but that's not a reflection on his quality - an injury and, of course, the awful situation in his home country have limited his appearances.

However, Zinchenko has still managed to have a big impact. He's got a habit of putting in his best displays in the run-in, when Pep Guardiola knows that defeat could ruin a title charge at any moment.

This year, it all culminated in a genuinely game-changing performance off the bench against Aston Villa on the final day of the season, without which I don't think Manchester City would have won the league.

Rodri - 10

Rodri has everything you need from a player like him: Smart, accurate passing, physicality, defensive output and a knack for being in the right position.

This campaign, he also added some huge moments to his game: A match-saving block against Liverpool, the winner at the Emirates, and equalising on the final day of the season.

He gets the only perfect 10/10 rating in the squad for being consistently imperious from start to finish and proving wrong everyone who said he'd never be able to replace Fernandinho.

Defensive midfield seasons don't really get better than what we saw from Rodri this year.

Fernandinho - 7

Manchester City legend Fernandinho's final season in Manchester actually saw the Brazilian veteran play more than most 37-year-old's would manage, appearing in half of his side's Premier League games.

Of course, he's not as athletic as he once was but the technical ability is still as impressive as ever, and he's certainly going to be missed.

It's fitting that Fernandinho's last Manchester City goal (against Leeds) was named the most powerful Premier League strike of the season, making it the last in a long line of absolute rockets from our #25.

Kevin De Bruyne - 9

Not many would have guessed, after a few months of the season, that KDB would once again be in contention for PFA Player of the Year by the end of it.

Injury really held the Belgian back from showing his best form, but he came alive in December and relentlessly tore the league apart until the final day.

In a season of world-class moments, the stand-out was that astonishing four-goal haul against Wolves that included a quick-fire hat trick with just his weak foot. He also assisted the biggest goal of the season on the final day - just another season at the office for football's best midfielder.

Bernardo Silva - 9

Kevin De Bruyne's regular partner in crime (and, like Aymeric Laporte, a player who we thought might leave last summer), Bernardo Silva has deservedly lapped up the praise from Manchester City fans this season while somehow going under the radar amongst neutrals.

In particular, his start to the season was laughably good - the Portugal star dominated Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, PSG and Leicester before Coca-Cola had even got the big red Christmas lorry out of storage.

When De Bruyne came back into form, he selflessly returned to a more conservative style and focused on aiding the team off the ball, but a blend of incredible energy and technical wizardry continue to make the diminutive midfielder a fan-favourite.

Ilkay Gundogan - 8

Following on from his sensational title-winning run last season was never going to be easy, but Gundogan managed to produce one of the most iconic moments in Manchester City history regardless.

The Germany international was a key man for City until a few fitness problems - combined with De Bruyne's return to peak form - saw his minutes reduced later in the season. But you can't understate his importance on the final day. Two goals off the bench from midfield is a truly remarkable contribution that turned the Villa game from a crushing, slightly embarrassing collapse to the greatest football feeling a City fan has had since 2012.

I'd go as far as to say he's the only man in our squad who could have pulled that off.

Phil Foden - 8

While many fans aren't sure the Premier League Young Player of the Year award was fully justified, it was another very impressive season for Foden, who seems to have solidified himself as a left winger above anything else.

23 goal contributions in just 36 starts is certainly nothing to be sniffed at, and it feels like the academy graduate - already one of the best forwards in the league - is on the verge of exploding into one of the world's absolute top players.

With the talent he has, I don't see why he can't be competing for PFA Player of the Year in the very near future.

Jack Grealish - 6

Grealish had a fairly quiet first season at Manchester City, but that was always going to be the case.

While the rest of the footballing world scratched their heads at his three league goals, most City fans are used to new signings needing a year or so to really settle in.

Jack was no different - a fact that he's freely admitted himself in interviews.

The good news is that his performances improved pretty dramatically towards the end of the season and there's no reason to think he won't soon be as integral as Bernardo Silva or Rodri became after their underwhelming debut years.

He's also won over most fans off the pitch with a likeable personality a lot of footballers are persuaded to suppress.

Riyad Mahrez - 8.5

Despite spending well over half the league season on the bench, Mahrez finished the season as Manchester City's top scorer in all competitions.

At one point, the Algerian got 18 goal contributions in just 13 games - marking one of the best runs of form City fans have seen in the Pep Guardiola era. He was extremely unfortunate that his goal away to Real Madrid didn't end up winning City the tie, too.

The only reason I haven't marked him as highly as Kevin De Bruyne or Bernardo Silva is that that lack of minutes, with Raheem Sterling or Gabriel Jesus often preferred on the right.

Gabriel Jesus - 8

If this is Jesus' final season at Manchester City, he certainly picked a good one to go out on. 13 goals and nine assists in just 28 starts made it one of his best ever campaigns. Playing largely off the right, Jesus began the year on fire and then really picked up again as the season drew to a close. He bagged four against Watford, equalised vs Liverpool and then scored against Real Madrid yet again.

He may be playing at Arsenal next season - if so, all the signs this year are that the Gunners are getting an excellent player.

Raheem Sterling - 8

It baffles me how this man continues to be so under-appreciated.

In probably the most tumultuous season of his career, with constant criticism and links with a move away, Raheem Sterling still got 16 goals and seven assists across 28 Premier League and Champions League starts. Those are slightly better numbers than Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus, but Raheem was the one treated like a flop simply for not hitting the heights of 2017-2019.

I hope he signs a new deal, but if he is to leave Manchester City, he marked his last year with a crucial assist on the final day, an equaliser against PSG and a hat-trick at Carrow Road.

Cole Palmer - 6

The brief breakthrough of academy graduate Cole Palmer was a lot of fun while it lasted.

In just a handful of appearances, he scored lovely goals in the Champions League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup before famously confirming that 'Prem Soon Come'.

It's very unfortunate that injury took him out of the equation just as things were starting to get good - by the time he returned, Manchester City were in the stage of the season where every game was a must-win, and we know Pep Guardiola is reluctant to put young players in that situation.

Ferran Torres - 6

Scored a few goals, got injured and went to Barcelona.

Not much else to say except that his departure funded the signing of Erling Haaland, for which I'd happily give him an Icon card in the next FIFA if it were up to me.

Did you agree with our ratings? Leave a comment with your own!