The world of football continues to await the outcome of Manchester City’s fate over alleged breaches of spending rules, but until then the former champions will continue to do what they want.
Manchester City and Premier League battle awaits official verdict (Image: Getty Images)
Manchester City continues to stick two fingers up at the Premier League. Given the club’s mind-boggling spending on new players over the past 12 months, what other conclusions can we draw?
City have completed the £30m signing of Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, which will take the club’s spending from New Year’s Day 2025 to nowhere near £500m.
Given the situation City continue to find themselves in, this is a surprisingly brazen and heavy-handed move. Oh yeah, an investigation into 115 alleged financial rule violations is underway.
The entire episode takes a very long time to complete, resembling a modern version of “War and Peace.” City have been at loggerheads with the Premier League since February 2023, when they were charged with the move.
And even though this seismic moment is just weeks away from three years ago, peace is not near. The investigation has concluded, but no verdict has been announced.
read more: Liverpool’s rivals ‘win’ £30m transfer race with big blow to Marc Gehiread more: Man City believe they have beaten Liverpool for £30m transfer fee for Marc Guehi
Some claim it could be another 12 months before the football world knows whether the former England champion cheated.
In the meantime, the city will continue to operate as usual. As if nothing had happened. The club strongly denies any wrongdoing, so why not? However, this scenario involving everyone involved is now a farce.
That’s not normal. It looks very bad. City spent almost £100m on this slot alone. The billionaires continue to strengthen their finances as they aim for another title in what could be Pep Guardiola’s final season at the Etihad.
In just over 12 months, Guardiola has signed 14 players. He completely overhauled the team this time. This is a reaction to finishing last season without a single piece of silverware. It was the first time in eight years that City failed to win a trophy.
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Since taking over as manager in 2016, Guardiola’s net spending has been around £955m. This makes him the third-highest paid player after Manchester United (£1.17bn) and Arsenal (£963m).
The obvious difference, of course, is that City have a lot to show for spending such lavish money. Guardiola won 18 trophies, including six league titles and one treble.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have won the FA Cup, while United have only won four trophies in the same period. However, it must be said that the difference is that Arsenal and United’s limited success is not at risk of being tainted.
If they are found guilty, City’s success will be tarnished (Image: Getty Images)
Because these two clubs cannot be accused of breaking the rules. It must be pointed out that City are in a strong position financially as they also make huge profits from selling players. Since 2023, City has generated £350m from sales.
But there is no getting away from the fact that all the success Guardiola engineered will come with a huge asterisk if the club is found guilty of the charges.
His legacy will remain a permanent stain. It’s a real shame that the football world has had to wait so long to know the fate of him and his club.
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