Pep Guardiola is set to leave Manchester City at the end of the 2025-26 season after a trophy-laden decade at the Etihad. So it feels like the perfect time to revisit one of the most intriguing themes of his managerial career: his relationship with strikers.
For all the talk of false nines, positional play and Guardiola’s supposed distrust of traditional centre-forwards, Pep has signed plenty of No.9s across spells at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man City.
There have been good ones. Think Erling Haaland and his record-breaking Man City career. But there have also been some admittedly poor ones. Perhaps names you may have forgotten.
So we’re here to rank them. Every striker signed by Guardiola in his managerial career.
11. Olarenwaju Kayode
- Games for Guardiola: 0
- Goals for Guardiola: 0
Olarenwaju Kayode joined Man City in 2017 after an impressive season for Austria Wien, where he scored 24 goals in 48 games. He was immediately loaned out to Girona, with the idea clearly for him to gain experience in a better league and open the door to becoming a viable squad player for Man City. Sadly, Kayode didn’t score a single goal in 13 games for the Catalan side, and was shifted out to Shakhtar Donetsk permanently the season afterwards.
10. Keirrison
- Games for Guardiola: 0
- Goals for Guardiola: 0
Keirrison signed for Guardiola’s Barcelona in 2009 and the hype was very real for a Brazilian forward who, by age 20, had scored 89 goals in 158 games for Palmeiras and Coritiba. However, Guardiola showed little to no interest in developing Keirrison, instantly sending him out on five successive loans before he joined Corritiba permanently in 2014. He never recovered that initial fire and his career unfortunately fizzled out.
9. Divin Mubama
- Games for Guardiola: 1
- Goals for Guardiola: 0
It is far too early to properly judge Divin Mubama’s place among Guardiola’s striker signings, but the former West Ham United youngster already edges above the likes of Keirrison and Olarenwaju Kayode by virtue of actually making a senior appearance under the Catalan. Signed by Man City in 2024 after impressing at academy level with the Hammers, Mubama is viewed as one of the more promising young centre-forwards in English football and has already been exposed to Guardiola’s notoriously demanding tactical setup.
Whether he eventually develops into a genuine first-team option at the Etihad remains to be seen. But there is a certain irony that, if he does make the breakthrough, it will happen after Guardiola’s departure from the club at the end of the season.
8. Omar Marmoush
- Games for Guardiola: 60
- Goals for Guardiola: 16
Omar Marmoush’s Man City career is still in its infancy, but there have already been enough flashes to suggest Guardiola may once again have found a forward capable of thriving both inside and outside the traditional No.9 role. Signed midway through the 2024-25 season, the Egypt international has largely been used as a centre-forward, featuring there in 40 of his 60 appearances under Guardiola and returning 10 goals in the position.
His pace, movement and willingness to press from the front have made him a natural fit for Man City’s fluid attacking structure, while recent goals in successive games against Brentford and Crystal Palace offered a glimpse of the clinical edge Guardiola has often demanded from his strikers. With a Carabao Cup and FA Cup already collected during his short time at the Etihad, Marmoush has made a far stronger early impression than some of Guardiola’s lower-ranked striker signings — even if it remains too soon to place him any higher for now.
7. Alexis Sanchez
- Games for Guardiola: 41
- Goals for Guardiola: 15
Barcelona signed Alexis Sanchez in 2011 fresh off a Champions League triumph, with Guardiola targeting his mobility and versatility to add new dimensions to the attack. Comfortable as a No.9, No.10 or wide forward, Sanchez gave Barcelona the flexibility to shift shape mid-game – most memorably in the 3-1 comeback win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, when Guardiola abandoned the usual 4-3-3 for an aggressive 3-1-4-1-1 after falling behind early. The tactical switch transformed the match, with Sanchez scoring the equaliser as Barcelona took control.
The Chilean finished his debut season with 15 goals but endured a painful end to the campaign, missing two clear chances in the Champions League semi-final defeat to Chelsea as Barcelona suffered a shock exit. Guardiola departed that summer, though Sanchez remained for two more seasons and reached his peak in Catalunya in 2013-14, scoring 21 goals before eventually making way for Luis Suarez.
6. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- Games for Guardiola: 46
- Goals for Guardiola: 22
After winning the Treble in his first season at Barcelona, Guardiola looked to evolve his attack by replacing Samuel Eto’o with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede made an electric start, scoring seven goals in his first seven La Liga appearances and adding a physical dimension to Barcelona’s technical brilliance. But the relationship quickly deteriorated, with Ibrahimovic struggling to adapt to Lionel Messi’s growing prominence and seeing his form fade after the winter break.
Even so, flashes of his quality remained throughout the campaign. He scored crucial goals in a fiercely contested title race with Real Madrid, most memorably a stunning left-footed volley to win the first Clasico of the season, while his brace away to Arsenal in the Champions League offered another reminder of his elite talent. Although his time in Catalunya ultimately fell short of expectations, there was still plenty of quality packed into his lone season under Guardiola.
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5. Julian Alvarez
- Games for Guardiola: 145
- Goals for Guardiola: 41
Julian Alvarez arrived at Man City in the shadow of Erling Haaland, but quickly proved he was far more than just a backup option. Signed from River Plate in 2022, the Argentine became one of Guardiola’s most trusted attacking players thanks to his relentless work rate, tactical intelligence and ability to operate across the frontline.
Although naturally a striker, Alvarez was often deployed in deeper or wider roles to accommodate Haaland, regularly giving Man City a different attacking dynamic with his movement and pressing from the front. His trophy haul during his time at the Etihad was extraordinary, while his versatility made him one of the easiest forwards Guardiola has ever had to integrate into his system. Had he arrived in a different era at Man City, Alvarez may well have become the club’s leading No.9 in his own right.
4. Gabriel Jesus
- Games for Guardiola: 236
- Goals for Guardiola: 95
Gabriel Jesus arrived at Man City midway through Guardiola’s first season and immediately looked tailor-made for the Catalan’s system. His relentless pressing, intelligent movement and versatility across the front line quickly sparked suggestions he could eventually replace Sergio Aguero as Man City’s leading striker, even if he lacked the Argentine’s ruthless edge in front of goal.
While Jesus never fully displaced Aguero, he still became a hugely important figure during one of the most successful eras in the club’s history. He scored 95 goals in 236 appearances, delivering several memorable moments along the way — including a decisive strike away to Real Madrid in the Champions League and the dramatic last-minute winner against Southampton that secured Man City’s historic 100-point Premier League season in 2017-18. Although rarely the undisputed focal point of Guardiola’s attack, Jesus’ work rate, tactical intelligence and adaptability made him a key component of Man City’s dominance across multiple title-winning campaigns.
3. David Villa
- Games for Guardiola: 76
- Goals for Guardiola: 32
After Guardiola abandoned the Zlatan Ibrahimovic experiment after just one season, Barcelona turned to David Villa as their new marquee forward. Signed in the final weeks of Joan Laporta’s first presidency shortly before helping Spain win the 2010 World Cup, Villa arrived at Camp Nou carrying enormous momentum, and immediately lived up to expectations.
Despite often being deployed from the left rather than through the middle, Villa thrived in Guardiola’s system, scoring 23 goals as Barcelona produced one of the greatest club seasons in modern football. The Blaugrana won La Liga, reached the Copa del Rey final and crowned the campaign with Champions League glory, where Villa scored a stunning goal in the 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Wembley.
His form dipped slightly the following season before a devastating leg break threatened to derail his career and ruled him out of Spain’s Euro 2012 triumph. Barcelona also surrendered the league title in Guardiola’s final campaign without him. But Villa battled back impressively, playing an important role in the club’s record-breaking 100-point La Liga title win in 2012-13 and cementing his place as one of Guardiola’s most successful striker signings.
2. Robert Lewandowski
- Games for Guardiola: 100
- Goals for Guardiola: 67
In Guardiola’s first season at Bayern Munich, he quickly moved away from the traditional No.9 profile of Mario Mandzukic and briefly experimented with Mario Gotze as a false nine in an attempt to recreate the Lionel Messi role from Barcelona. It soon became clear Bayern needed a more complete centre-forward, prompting the club to sign Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer in 2014.
Lewandowski arrived in Munich with 103 goals in 187 games for Dortmund and proved an immediate fit for Guardiola’s demands. He possessed all the qualities of a classic striker — physical presence, hold-up play and elite finishing — but also the technical intelligence to drop deep, drift wide and combine seamlessly with team-mates in Bayern’s intricate positional system. In many ways, he represented the blueprint Guardiola later sought in Harry Kane at Man City: a forward capable of being both a prolific goalscorer and a creative focal point.
And while Lewandowski’s all-round game made him ideal for Guardiola’s football, his scoring record remained extraordinary. The Poland international scored 67 goals in 100 appearances under Guardiola before elevating himself to legendary status at Bayern, eventually amassing 344 goals in 375 games while winning eight consecutive Bundesliga titles, three DFB-Pokals and the Champions League.
1. Erling Haaland
- Games for Guardiola: 198
- Goals for Guardiola: 169
Erling Haaland did not just solve Man City’s long-running striker dilemma, he completely changed the scale of what Guardiola’s attack could look like. Signed from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 after years of experimentation with false nines and fluid forward rotations, the Norwegian instantly became the focal point of Man City’s forward line and produced one of the most devastating debut campaigns English football has ever seen.
Haaland shattered the Premier League single-season scoring record in his first year in England, firing Man City to a historic Treble and silencing long-standing doubts over whether a more traditional No.9 could truly thrive in Guardiola’s positional system. His movement in the box, physical dominance and ruthless finishing gave Man City a directness they had often lacked in previous years, while his mere presence constantly distorted opposition defensive structures and created space for the players around him.
There have occasionally been questions about whether Man City lose some of their old fluidity when the attack is built so heavily around a central striker, particularly compared to the false-nine era that delivered Guardiola’s most aesthetically dominant football. Yet the numbers have made those debates feel largely academic. Haaland has continued to score at an unprecedented rate, collected multiple Golden Boots and remained the decisive figure in Man City’s biggest moments, establishing himself as the most successful striker signing of Guardiola’s managerial career by a considerable margin.
He added another goal against Bournemouth, though it ultimately proved insufficient as Man City were held to a draw – a result that handed Arsenal the title in what became the final campaign of Guardiola’s era at the Etihad.