--- title: "Total Duds: Martin Demichelis was one Argentine signing that Manchester City got wrong" canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/total-duds-martin-demichelis-man-city-worst-signings/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Liam Togher" section: "Features" published: "2020-05-16T15:00:02Z" modified: "2020-05-16T15:00:02Z" --- # Total Duds: Martin Demichelis was one Argentine signing that Manchester City got wrong **This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.** There was a distinct Argentine flavour to Manchester City’s [first Premier League triumph](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8305479/The-inside-story-Manchester-Citys-2012-Premier-League-title-Sergio-Agueros-Hollywood-moment.html) in 2011/12, with [Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Carlos Tevez](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/manchester-city/leistungsdaten/verein/281/plus/0?reldata=%262011) all playing their part in that memorable success. It was a recipe which the Etihad Stadium club sampled again in 2013 when they brought Martin Demichelis to England in a [£4.2m deal](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/23924668) from Atletico Madrid, who he had [joined from Malaga only two months previously](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/23924668). The defender’s move to Manchester quickly reunited him with Manuel Pellegrini, who had [been his manager at Malaga](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/23924668) when they [reached the Champions League quarter-finals](https://www.squawka.com/en/where-are-they-now-malaga-champions-league/) a few months previously. His Premier League debut was delayed due to a knee ligament injury and, when it finally came, it wasn’t one to remember as City went down 2-1 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (as per [TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/martin-demichelis/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/2963/plus/0/saison/2013/wettbewerb/GB1/verein/281)). Demichelis would make up for lost time by becoming a [regular presence in Pellegrini’s line-up](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/martin-demichelis/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/2963/plus/0/saison/2013/wettbewerb/GB1/verein/281) over the course of the 2013/14 season but he wasn’t always the most assuring of figures in the Manchester City defence. He was sent off for a foul on Lionel Messi in a Champions League defeat to Barcelona which resulted in a penalty that his Argentina colleague dispatched to the net, although he publicly admitted his culpability afterwards and absolved referee Jonas Eriksson for the red card (as per [Daily Mail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2563491/Martin-Demichelis-admits-deserved-red-card-against-Barcelona-fouling-Lionel-Messi.html)). Demichelis ended his first season in Manchester as a Premier League champion and League Cup winner, tasting success in the latter competition again in 2016 (as per [TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/martin-demichelis/erfolge/spieler/2963)). He featured regularly in Pellegrini’s starting XI [in his first two seasons at the club](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/martin-demichelis/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/2963/verein/281) but found game-time [much harder to come by once the 2015/16](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/martin-demichelis/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/2963/verein/281) campaign rolled around. It was not a season which the Argentina defender would care to remember fondly. In March 2016, he was [charged by the FA](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/35923924) over breaches of betting rules and [fined just over £22,000](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36323842) as a result. Around that time, he also endured a miserable outing in a derby defeat at home to Manchester United, when he was given the runaround by a teenage Marcus Rashford. Demichelis [prompted a melee](https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/654140/Manchester-City-Manchester-United-Match-Report-Marcus-Rashford-Goal-Louis-van-Gaal) when he hauled the England youngster to the ground, having earlier been [guilty of the mistake](https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/654140/Manchester-City-Manchester-United-Match-Report-Marcus-Rashford-Goal-Louis-van-Gaal) which led to Rashford’s winning goal, and another error early in the second half saw him [withdrawn by Pellegrini](https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/654140/Manchester-City-Manchester-United-Match-Report-Marcus-Rashford-Goal-Louis-van-Gaal) – a substitution which [drew ironic cheers from some home fans](https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/654388/Manchester-City-Manchester-United-Willy-Caballero-Martin-Demichelis-Premier-League-News). \[freshpress-poll id=”296937″\] Speaking on radio punditry duty, Robbie Savage described it as “the worst performance by a centre-half I have ever seen” \[via [Daily Express](https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/654388/Manchester-City-Manchester-United-Willy-Caballero-Martin-Demichelis-Premier-League-News)\], while a user on the [Xtratime.org](https://www.xtratime.org/threads/is-martin-gaston-demichelis-the-worst-footballer-in-the-world.422890/) forum duly began a discussion thread called “Is Martin Gaston Demichelis the worst footballer in the world?” The Argentina defender was [released from Manchester City in June 2016](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/man-city-release-demichelis-wright-11457570) and, despite winning three trophies in his time at the club, his time in England was scarred by some truly galling defensive displays and his [inclusion in polls about the worst player in the Premier League](https://www.joe.ie/sport/poll-vote-for-this-seasons-worst-premier-league-player-423178). While fellow countrymen [Aguero](https://www.mancity.com/news/first-team/first-team-news/2020/january/sergio-aguero-premier-league-records) and [Zabaleta](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/may/16/manchester-city-west-bromwich-albion-premier-league-match-report) would go on to be regarded as Etihad Stadium royalty, Demichelis fell far short of such standards. ***Man City fans, what did you make of Demichelis during his time at the club? Comment below with your views!***