After spending £84 million ($114 million) on Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo during the January transfer window, Pep Guardiola mockingly stated that he wanted Manchester City would spend more money. For the second straight winter transfer window, City has spent more money on new players than any Premier League team, but Guardiola took great care to note that six teams had spent more money overall over the previous seven years.
After losing Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, and John Stones to injury, City made a splash in early January when they signed Semenyo from Bournemouth for £64 million. They then added Guehi for £20 million to strengthen their defense. City spent a total of £485 million across the last three transfer windows. While Kalvin Phillips went on loan to Sheffield United, the team also got back Sverre Nypan from his Middlesbrough loan. By selling Oscar Bobb to Fulham for £27 million, City was able to recover a portion of its expenditures.
City spent the highest amount in the January transfer window in the Premier League, followed closely by Crystal Palace splurging £83m on Brennan Johnson and Jorgen Strand Larsen. The Eagles had the highest net spend in the division, totalling at £63m compared to City’s £57m.
The day after the transfer window shut, Guardiola was asked whether City’s sporting director Hugo Viana deserved more credit for pulling off the deals for Semenyo and Guehi. And the coach gave an unexpected answer.
Guardiola told a press conference: “I am a little bit sad and upset because our net spend in the past five years we are seventh in the Premier League. I want to be the first so I don’t understand why the club has not spent more money. So, I am a little bit grumpy with them. But to be in that position that we were in, in the past was because we spent a lot and now the other six teams have to win the Premier League and the Champions League and FA Cups because they have spent more in the past five years.
“This is a fact, it is not an opinion. You can say an opinion is if we played good or bad against Tottenham. So we can agree or disagree but that is facts so good luck for the six teams in front of us in the net spend for the last five years. Let’s go, I am waiting.”
Guardiola was referring to a new table released which showed that Manchester United have the highest net spend over the last five years, calculated at -£684.6m. Arsenal were second on -£675.7m, Chelsea third on -£662m, followed by Tottenham on -£578.8m, Newcastle on -£430.6m, and Liverpool on £423.7m. City were ranked seventh on -£397.7m
