"Manchester City Dream Team"

GK
Gianluigi Buffon (£15m)






A World Cup winner with Italy, he is unassailable at Juventus and narrowly edges out competition from Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas and Chelsea’s Petr Cech.










RIGHT DEF
Sergio Ramos (£40m)





The Real Madrid right-back renowned for his dynamism on the wing and the accuracy of his passing.












CENTER DEF
Rio Ferdinand (£40m)







Indomitable at centre-back, his towering presence should see him become the next permanent captain of Manchester United.









CENTER DEF
Fabio Cannavaro (£10m)






An ageing force but supreme for Real Madrid and also the oldest recipient of Fifa’s World Player of the Year award.











LEFT DEF
Eric Abidal (£30m)






Underlining France’s surfeit of superlative left-backs, Abidal is only marginally preferred to United’s Patrice Evra.











RIGHT WING
Cristiano Ronaldo (£70m)






Maddening and mercurial, but indispensable – still with a £70 million price tag attached to his name, his acquisition could test even City’s boundless new wealth.










CENTER MID
Steven Gerrard (£40m)







Provided he is played in the centre, his natural berth, is capable of transforming any game and remains peerless in this position.










CENTER MID
Kaka (£60m)





It will be incongruous to see him only in the Uefa Cup this season, after Milan’s failure to qualify for the Champions League, but the Brazilian still has the silkiness of touch to grace any world XI.










LEFT WING
Lionel Messi (£65m)





Often touted as the world’s best player, the Barcelona winger may be physically fragile but still has the wiles to terrorise any Premier League defence.








STRIKER
David Villa (£35m)





Underlined by a hat-trick in Spain’s first Euro 2008 group game that he was a lethal marksman even if he remains loyal to Valencia.











STRIKER
Fernando Torres (£45m)




The immediacy of his impact at Liverpool, and his winning goal for Spain in the Euro 2008 final, prompted City to make an audacious late transfer inquiry.