It was meant to be a dream return to his boyhood club but Vincent Kompany's early reign as player-manager of Belgian club Anderlecht has quickly become a nightmare.
With no wins from four league games, the centre-back has already been accused of believing he's God, attempting to copy Pep Guardiola and had his role on matchdays reduced.
After bidding a fond farewell to Manchester City with a fourth Premier League title to his name at the end of last season, the 33-year-old decided to return to Belgium and accept the role of player-manager at the club where he'd launched his career as a professional footballer.
"I was left not only impressed, but also intrigued by this sign of confidence in me," Kompany said of Anderlecht at the time.
"I want to share my knowledge with the next purple generations. With that, I will also put a bit of Manchester in the heart of Belgium."
The early signs are, however, far from encouraging, with Anderlecht currently sitting 13th in the Belgian top flight after a recent 4-2 loss at home to Kortrijk.
Kompany's defending in that defeat was suspect at best and the pitchforks came out afterwards.
Former Anderlecht and Belgium forward Marc Degryse led the angry mob.
“Kompany is only human – but I feel he thinks he is God," Degryse told HLN.
“Some people like to be busy, but they can become too preoccupied. Kompany should think about this. There are limits to everything.
“If another centre-back had made the mistakes he made he’d have been criticised – and Kompany would have dropped him for the next game.
“If he is honest as a manager, he can’t be happy with himself as a player.”
Kompany has played every minute in the league so far this season, in a side also containing two other former Premier League players in Samir Nasri and Nacer Chadli.
Unfortunately, the experienced trio have, thus far, proven unable of lifting an Anderlecht squad that finished sixth last season.
Having won the league in 2017, the Purple and White aren't content with mediocrity and fired former manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck in December last year as the club struggled to reach its previous heights.
While the axe isn't yet looming over Kompany, who was received warmly by fans initially, it's clear he won't be given an easy ride in Belgium as he gets to grips with the unique demands of being a player-manager.
Still attempting to establish his footballing philosophy, most recently deploying a 4-1-4-1 formation, Kompany has already been accused of trying to hard to be Anderlecht's answer to City boss Guardiola.
"In football, you do not have to copy another coach,” former Ajax coach Aad de Mos told La Derniere Heure.
“Kompany wants to do the same thing as Guardiola in City and that makes me sick.
"City have players like Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne – Anderlecht needs to get by with more modest players. Guardiola has Aymeric Laporte, Ilkay Gundogan or Raheem Sterling – Kompany does not have them in Anderlecht."
Player-managers are widely a thing of the past in Europe, with Ryan Giggs the last high-profile case of a gaffer trying to juggle two roles.
Unlike Giggs, who was 40 when he temporarily did both jobs at Manchester United, Kompany is just 33 and still clearly committed to his playing career.
While most managers will be using the upcoming international break to refine their tactics, the defender is still lining out for Belgium and will likely be called up for their European Qualifiers against San Marino and Scotland in September.
All in all, it leaves Kompany seriously stretched with some believing he's bitten off more than he can chew.
“He should have been forbidden to do both jobs. It is ridiculous," De Mos said.
"Vincent is intelligent – he thinks during a match. It is normal that it affects him as a player when his team is not playing well.
"I would give Kompany time until the winter break, but if the results do not improve, we have to look at things again.
"Finishing the season with the current points average is not an option for a club like Anderlecht. He needs to take points in the next four games, otherwise he'll be in the eye of the storm like all other coaches."
From the clear skies of the Etihad, where he only had to worry about meeting Guardiola's impeccable standards, Kompany is now under a cloud, having quickly discovered just how complicated the life of a player-manager can be.
Anderlecht themselves have realised they've asked too much of the Belgian and recently confirmed Simon Davies would take over managerial duties on matchdays.
"Kompany must be more a player during the match," Davies told HLN.
"He must be able to really lead the team on the field. Of course, no one doubts that he can, but it is important that he is merely one of the players during the match.
"Vinnie loves the club so much that he always wants to give everything for Anderlecht."
However, as Kompany has learned the hard way, one man can only do so much. Sadly, he is now inadvertently proving why player-managers are well and truly a thing of the past.