The Man City boss has taken aim at Premier League rivals over transfer accusations
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola(Image: Getty Images)
I love listening to Pep Guardiola talk football. He might not be for everyone and he can sometimes get a bit prickly when things aren’t going to plan, but when it comes to on-pitch matters, there are few better.
He’s one of the greatest footballing minds of his generation – if not the best – and his achievements wherever he has managed testify to his tactical acumen.
But I had to draw the line when he had a tongue-in-cheek moan about the perception over Man City’s January transfer window spending.
The Spaniard bit back over accusations that they were again spending their way out of trouble, following the signings of Antonie Semenyo and Marc Guehi in a window where very little else happened.
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That’s on the back of a summer which saw a fortune spent strengthening the squad with the likes of Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Gianluigi Donnarumma and James Trafford.
The point he makes is a valid one. While City are spending big, it comes hand in hand with moving players on, meaning the former European champions are only the seventh biggest net spenders in the Premier League, behind Liverpool, Arsenal and, yes Newcastle United, among others.
“I’m a little bit sad and upset because in net spend the last five years we are seventh in the Premier League. I want to be the first, I don’t understand why the club don’t spend more money. I am a little bit grumpy with them,” he said ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg with Eddie Howe’s side.
“But like we won in the past because we spent a lot, now six teams have to win the Premier Leagues, Champions Leagues and FA Cups because they spend more in the last five years. These are facts. It’s not an opinion.
“You can say an opinion, like you say you play good or bad against Spurs – we can agree or disagree. But they are facts. Good luck to the six teams who are in front of us for net spend for the last five years. Let’s go. I’m waiting. That’s a nice quote, eh?”
Of course he’s right. The numbers speak for themselves, but he’s also overlooking a major factor.
City have acted wisely in selling on players, often at a healthy profit, as have Liverpool and Chelsea most notably.
But where did those players come from to sell? It’s only thanks to years of investment before the Draconian financial rules were introduced to prevent clubs like Newcastle advancing their standing at such a rapid rate.
Without even touching on the 115 charges the Premier League and City are currently wrangling over – those waters are so muddy that you wonder whether it will ever be resolved – Man City and others have been able to grow their squads, academies and revnue streams for years.
Newcastle, on the other hand, have been hamstrung by PSR and FFP every step of the way. The nature of the squad the new owners inherited meant that until very recently, there were no big-names to move on in order to fund more investment.
Even the one notable exit, Alexander Isak, has left a gaping hole in the first-team which was almost impossible to fill in the latter stages of the summer window, even with a £124m splurge on Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.
So yes, Pep may have got his sums right in the short term, but let’s not forget the bigger picture.
Newcastle, and to a lesser extent Aston Villa, have to walk a hugely difficult financial tightrope that leaves their squads woefully short of being able to compete on mulitple fronts, while City and Liverpool and their ilk can afford to address squad weaknesses with significant spending.
While Newcastle have everything crossed that Lewis Hall doesn’t get injured between now and the end of the summer, Liverpool splashed £60m on Jeremy Jacquet before loaning him back to Rennes.
United, on the other hand, have had to sit on their hands in four of the last five transfer windows. Of course they have spent, and in large amounts, but it will be a long time before they can be as robust as the more established Premier League sides.
Newcastle have to be better sellers, that is true, but the options for moving players on at a profit remain limited.
That’s not a moan, but a fact. And as Pep likes his facts, he shouldn’t forget that one.
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