Big spenders City have forked out €776m during 'Pep era'
Manchester City have spent 776 million euro in recent years and have bagged seven titles. This policy has provoked the likes of Klopp to state: "They buy who they want, it's fantasy land".
Money is not the be all and end all in the game of football, but when it becomes available and in massive quantities, it is certainly a help in the quest for success. Back in 1999, Manchester City were wallowing in the third tier of the English game and a stark contrast to the current situation at the club, with the "Sky Blues" now one of the powerhouses in the global game.
Pep Guardrdiola arrived in Manchester in 2016 and during his tenure on the bench, the club have spent 776.3M€ on 28 acquisitions (against 249 million euro on sales). During his time as City boss, the Catalan coach has steered his side to seven titles (two Premier League wins, one FA Cup, two League Cups and one Community Shield), broken down against the outlay, it approximates to 75 million euro per trophy.
Manchester City are the 'nouveau riche' side in the Premier League and this process is finely portrayed in the book ‘Richer than God’ (by City fan and Guardian journalist David Conn). The club have moved from Maine Road to the Emirates Stadium and under the guidance of Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, have spent 230 million euro to create a state of the art football academy in the English city.
The Manchester club was sold to the Emirates investors after previous owner Taksim Shinawatra became embroiled in financial problems relating to tax avoidance. "When Sheikh Mansour arrived at City, the internal organisation at the club was almost at an amateur level with the club offices not even having windows”, states Conn in his book.
Plethora of full backs...
Current CEO Ferran Soriano has allowed Guardiola to accrue seven full backs with the likes of Cancelo, Mendy, Kyle Walker and Danilo alone costing City 205 million euro. This 'big spending' policy has drawn criticism from many quarters with Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp stating in 2019: “It's fantasy land, if they want a player, they just buy him".
The recently issued UEFA sanction (which the club will appeal via CAS) is a major sidetrack in their ambition as the club are set to face Real Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 with the biggest prize in the European game, to date proving elusive for the 'Sky Blues'.