The winger had enjoyed a successful 10-years at West Ham United, where he proved popular with fans, but following their relegation from the Premier League, he jumped at the opportunity to sign for the Club he supported as a boy.
It was the move he had always dreamed of making, but 14-years after his departure, Sinclair admits City fans never saw the best of him.
The former England international delivered some special moments, scoring in two Manchester derby victories, but the 48-year-old still feels his desire to succeed had a negative impact on his game.
“I think that was one of the things that affected my performance, as well as the injuries, when I was at City,” he told mancity.com.
“I almost tried too hard. I’m not taking away anything from my times at West Ham, QPR, Blackpool and Cardiff, but I think I wanted it too much at City.
“I wanted to be a success so much and sometimes that had a negative effect on my performances.
“Obviously, having the history in the city with my friends and family, everyone would be there.
“Prior to that I’d been at Blackpool where nobody cared because I was in the fourth division and then I was in London for 10 years.
“It was an emotional thing which, looking back, I would have liked to have dealt with better.
“It was obviously because I had fond feelings for the Club and I wanted to do as well as I could, but it didn’t play out like that.”
Having retired from the professional game in 2008, Sinclair now has the pleasure of watching City as a fan and, in his role as a radio pundit for talkSPORT, analysing the current crop of players.
The former midfielder combines his media work with his role as lead coach at the Pro:Direct Academy Lancashire, which provides a football education programme for 16-18-year-olds and he is full of admiration for how Pep Guardiola has guided City through the current campaign.
Sinclair has been particularly impressed with the Catalan’s tactical tweaks and believes he deserves great credit for the way he has handled the departures of legendary figures like Vincent Kompany and David Silva in recent years.
“I am really enjoying being a fan and being a pundit at the moment because City are ticking a lot of boxes to providing something very special at the end of the season,” he added.
“For me as a coach now, I look at it and think what an amazing achievement this is to build this team and go again after losing players like Vincent and David. You almost have to reinvent yourself and reinvent positions.
“I think Pep has slightly tweaked his philosophy and how he wants to play and the formation but I think the discipline from the players to take on information and adapt has been brilliant.”
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