In the wake of the Club’s achievement in becoming the 2017/18 champions of the England, a series of light projections took place last night in each of the players’ home cities around the world.
The projections, which spread across 25 cities over three continents, were a special surprise to the players after they lifted the Premier League trophy at the Etihad Stadium after yesterday’s home clash with Huddersfield Town.
Every player who has been part of the title-winning campaign, manager Pep Guardiola and his coaching staff were represented in the projections which kicked off with an image of the squad on Manchester Town Hall last night.
Each of the locations were selected due to a personal connection with the players, from the first pitch they ever played football in to their childhood school.
The locations included the favela in Sao Paulo where Gabriel Jesus first learned to play football, the beach in Gran Canaria where a young David Silva used to practise his skills and the site of Kevin De Bruyne’s first club in Belgium where young footballers now compete in the ‘Kevin De Bruyne Cup’ each year.
A projection also took place in Germany on a local landmark that Leroy Sané has tattooed on his back.
There were further projections across the City Football Academy in Manchester to recognise the young players who have graduated from the Academy to the first team this season.
Manchester City’s chief operating officer, Omar Berrada said: “This was an ambitious and exciting project that we have been delighted to reveal over the last 24 hours.
“Yesterday was a great day in Manchester as we lifted the Premier League trophy and we wanted to do something that would resonate with our players and extend these celebrations to their home towns.
“The reactions from the players have been fantastic – they have loved seeing their Premier League achievement being marked in such special locations and allowing local fans to join in.
“I would also like to thank the friends and families of the players for their help in making this project possible.”
To view photos and videos of each projection, visit www.mancity.com or the Club’s social media platforms.
Locations for each projection (arranged by squad number):
Full squad: Manchester Town Hall, UK
Pep Guardiola: Santpedor town hall in Pep’s hometown in Spain
Kyle Walker: The Lansdowne Estate in Sharrow, Sheffield in the UK where Kyle used to play football with his friends as a child
John Stones: John’s former school, Penistone Grammar School, in Barnsley, UK
Raheem Sterling: Copland Community School in Wembley, UK which Raheem played for the football team growing up
Fabian Delph: Fabian’s former school, Tong Leadership Academy, in Bradford, UK
Brahim Diaz: Escuela de Futbol Tiro Pichón in Málaga where Brahim first trained as a footballer
Phil Foden: The Stockport viaduct in Phil’s hometown
David Silva: The beach where David used to play football as a child at Playa las Marañuelas in Arguineguín, Gran Canaria
Bernardo Silva: Bernardo’s former school, Colégio Valsassina, in Lisbon
Aymeric Laporte: Place des Laitiers in Agen, France where Aymeric grew up
Benjamin Mendy: Benjamin’s first football club US Palaiseau in Paris, France
Ilkay Gündogan: Gelsenkirchen Hessler 06’s stadium in Germany where Ilkay first played football
Leroy Sané: The Himmelsleitter landmark in Essen, Germany that Leroy has tattooed on his back
Vincent Kompany: Helihavenlaan 35 tower block in Brussels, Belgium where Vincent grew up
Kevin De Bruyne: At the site of his former team Drogen in Ghent, Belgium who now organise the Kevin De Bruyne Cup each year
Oleksandr Zinchenko: The Castle Radomyshl in Oleksandr’s hometown of Radomyshl, Ukraine
Yaya Touré: Yaya’s former football academy ASEC Mimosas in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Claudio Bravo: The shop in Viluco, Santiago, Chile that belongs to his parents and where he grew up
Danilo: Danilo’s neighbourhood church in Bicas, Brazil that he used to visit as a child
Fernandinho: Fernandinho’s first football pitch in Londrina Paraná, Brazil
Ederson: Ederson’s first football pitch in Osasco, Sao Paulo in Brazil
Gabriel Jesus: Gabriel’s first football pitch in the favela in Jardim Peri, Sao Paulo in Brazil
Sergio Agüero: Sergio’s first football club, Loma Alegre Football Club, in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nicolás Otamendi: Nicolás’s family church in La Paloma, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Eliaquim Mangala: AC Lustin football club in Namur, Belgium where Eliaquim first played when he moved to Belgium
Tosin Adarabioyo, Daniel Grimshaw, Lukas Nmecha and Arijanet Muric: Projections across the City Football Academy in Manchester, UK where the players have trained throughout their time at the Club’s Academy
Management and coaching staff: The City Football Academy training complex in Manchester, UK
