The Spain midfielder made 41 competitive appearances this season — 28 of them starts — but his involvement collapsed in the second half of the campaign. He did not feature in any of City's final three Premier League matches before starting the last-day draw with Bournemouth, a cosmetic inclusion that did little to change the picture.
The Times reported on Wednesday that González has grown frustrated by his lack of playing time and is now actively evaluating his future. Clubs in Spain and Italy are monitoring the situation. His contract runs until 2028.
González was brought to the Etihad Stadium as cover for Rodri, who suffered an ACL injury in September 2024 and spent the first half of the season sidelined. In Rodri's absence González showed enough in the early months — his control, his positioning, his range of passing — to suggest he could develop into a long-term successor. But when Rodri returned to fitness and reclaimed his position, González was immediately marginalised.
The structural problem is that his situation is about to get worse, not better.
Enzo Maresca, the incoming Manchester City manager, is pushing hard to sign Chelsea's Enzo Fernández. City are also closing in on Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson. Both players are central midfielders. If both deals are completed, González would effectively be fifth in the queue for a position he was sold to the club as a future cornerstone of.
City's sporting director Hugo Viana is understood to have accepted that a sale is the most likely outcome. The club are prepared to listen to offers and will not hold the player against his will. Their valuation is in the region of £35 million to £40 million — a significant loss on what they paid, though one the club accepts as the cost of a failed experiment in squad management.
González was not included in Spain's World Cup squad despite making 28 starts for one of Europe's major clubs. That omission was another blow, removing the one opportunity that might have enhanced his market value before the summer window opened.
The next few weeks will clarify the picture. The direction, however, is already clear.