Chelsea have spent over £900m on players since Todd Boehly’s ownership group took control of the club last year; Guardiola says City pay a fair price for players or use their academy; Spanish boss also says City will need to look at transfer options in wake of Kevin De Bruyne’s injury.
City’s expenditures have been under continuous scrutiny since Sheikh Mansour’s acquisition in 2008, resulting in the club currently dealing with 115 Premier League charges relating to potential violations of financial regulations.
Guardiola maintained that their strategy has consistently been cautious, in stark contrast to the approach adopted by Todd Boehly’s ownership consortium at Stamford Bridge. The recent addition of former City academy player Romeo Lavia this week pushed spending at Chelsea to almost £1 billion since the beginning of the previous summer.
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City, having secured the acquisitions of Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic during this transfer period, might consider further market activity due to Kevin De Bruyne’s potential five-month absence and the ambiguity surrounding Cole Palmer’s future. However, Guardiola emphasized their commitment to paying reasonable prices.
“I wouldn’t be able to sit here if our spending matched Chelsea’s expenditure over the last two transfer windows – it would be detrimental,” Guardiola expressed. “Undoubtedly, it would subject us to an unprecedented level of scrutiny.”
“When people say just Manchester City and Pep Guardiola buy players, I didn’t know I had a lot of money in my pocket to buy all the players I have.
“We have to see what happens in the market and if we can do it and to pay what we believe is fair.