When Manchester City's Champions League campaign of 2015-16 fizzled out disappointingly in the towering majesty of the Bernabeu stadium (1-0 on aggregate) they didn't just leave the tournament at the semifinal stage with a whimper, they seemed to be bringing down the curtain on their first great trophy-winning team of the modern era.
For several of the players on that Wednesday night in Madrid, it seemed as if the defeat heralded their last call to arms in a City shirt. Much had been said about the likes of Yaya Toure, Aleksandar Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta and what they had brought to the table.