Manchester City have started to bring through the next generation of club legends.
Mike Summerbee, who made over 400 appearances for the Blues between 1965 and 1975, is regularly spotted with the first team or travelling supporters on a matchday in his role as a club ambassador.
The Wembley heroes of 99 have also been turned to in recent years, with Shaun Goater and Paul Dickov among the former players to have engaged in media and commercial activities; Dickov was present on this summer's tour of the Far East, where there were a number of events with local fans and supporter clubs offering them the chance to have pictures with the Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup trophies.
And City are now beginning to be represented by players from the following decades as Shaun Wright-Phillips, Micah Richards, and Joleon Lescott have all stepped up their appearances. While none are employed in any permanent capacity, the club are pleased to have more ex-players to call upon to share their stories.
Wright-Phillips, who had two spells at the club after being brought to Maine Road as a teenager and whose son is in the academy, was in the US this month for the trophy tour, and was in Sao Paulo in Brazil at the weekend.
Richards, another academy product who retired this summer, will be in Nigeria this week for a trophy tour and also had a column in the first matchday programme of the season. Lescott, a teammate of Richards when City won their first Premier League title in 2012, has also been an increasingly regular figure on the trophy tours on top of his role working with City's loan players across Europe.
All three will be back in a City shirt for Vincent Kompany's testimonial at the Etihad on September 11.
