Manchester City chief defends transfer spending as he insists Arsenal and Manchester United spend more

Manchester City’s chief executive Ferran Soriano has jumped to the defence of the club’s transfer spending.

Pep Guardiola’s side beat Real Madrid 4-0 on Wednesday night to take them to the Champions League final, putting them on course for an historic treble.

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Getty

However, in February, City were hit with more than 100 charges of alleged breaches of financial rules by the Premier League spanning from the 2009/10 season to the 2017/18 campaign.

Despite the cloud that hangs over the club’s on-pitch success, Soriano has pointed out that rival clubs have in fact spent more than them.

Speaking to Movistar, he said: “Look, you only have to look at the investment in players in England in the last year, three years, five years… we are never the club spending the most on players.

“There are many other clubs investing more money than us – Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal. Saying that we’ve spent a lot of money and we won because of that is just not true.”

Ever since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership arrived last summer, Chelsea have spent nearly £600million on new players.

United’s expenditure is at around £211million over the past year, with Arsenal’s being in the region of £167million.

AFP – Getty

AFP

City’s spending since last summer has only reached around £130million, with Erling Haaland’s near £52million arrival being their biggest acquisition.

Results have been clear to see though, with the Norwegian scoring 52 goals across all competitions in his debut season.

His efforts in front of goal have been crucial to City’s success overall, with Guardiola’s side chasing a treble.

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They need just three more points to secure a third consecutive Premier League title, with an FA Cup final against Man United also on the horizon.

Next month’s Champions League final against Inter Milan will be the second opportunity for City to get their hands on the trophy after their heartbreak in 2021 against Chelsea.

Their potential success this season could therefore prove that you don’t need to be the highest spenders to come out on top.