Guardiola Expresses Discontent Over City’s Transfer Spending

Pep Guardiola joined Manchester City from Bayern Munich in 2016.

In a candid moment, Pep Guardiola admitted he feels “a little bit sad and upset” that Manchester City ranks only seventh in net transfer spending within the Premier League over the last five years.

City emerged as the highest spenders once again during the January transfer window, acquiring Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi for approximately £84 million, following an expenditure of £180 million the previous January.

However, the club’s adeptness at generating revenue through player sales has resulted in an impressive £550 million influx over the past five years, as reported by Transfermarkt.

When asked about the commendation that should be given to director of football Hugo Viana for the club’s transfer strategy, Guardiola responded affirmatively: “Really good. Txiki [Bergiristain] before and Hugo now.”

He continued, expressing his dissatisfaction: “I am a little bit sad and upset because in net spend over the last five years we are seventh in the Premier League. I want to be first; I don’t understand why the club doesn’t spend more money. I am a little bit grumpy with them.

“But like we won in the past because we spent a lot, now six teams have the potential to win the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cups because they have spent more over the last five years. These are facts, not opinions.

“You can have an opinion on whether we played well or poorly against Spurs, and we can agree or disagree, but these are established facts. Good luck to the six teams ahead of us in net spend over the past five years.

“Let’s go. I’m waiting. That’s a nice quote, eh?”

Despite not clinching a major trophy last season, Manchester City has secured six of the last nine Premier League titles.

The club has surpassed the £100 million mark only once in its history, signing Jack Grealish from Aston Villa in 2022.

In addition, City has astutely recouped funds in recent years, generating over £250 million from the sale of academy products alone since 2020. Notably, Argentina forward Julian Alvarez transferred to Atletico Madrid from City in 2024 for a record £81.5 million, while Raheem Sterling’s move to Chelsea the previous summer netted the club £50 million.

Here are the net spending figures for the top Premier League clubs over the last five years:

– Manchester United: £675 million
– Arsenal: £663 million
– Chelsea: £651 million
– Tottenham: £574 million
– Newcastle: £424 million
– Liverpool: £420 million
– Manchester City: £396 million

*All figures are sourced from transfermarkt.com.