Mansion Sports – Pep Guardiola delivered a sarcastic remark by stating that he hoped Manchester City would spend more money, despite the club having spent £84 million during the January transfer window to sign Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo.

Manchester City once again became the highest-spending club in the Premier League during the winter transfer window for the second consecutive season.

Nevertheless, Guardiola emphasized that there are six other clubs that have recorded higher net spending than City over the past seven years.

City Spend £485 Million Across the Last Three Transfer Windows

Manchester City opened their January transfer activity by signing Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth for £64 million, before strengthening their defense with the acquisition of Marc Guehi for £20 million.

These moves were made after City lost Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, and John Stones to injuries. The club’s total spending across the last three transfer windows has now reached £485 million.

In addition, City recalled Sverre Nypan from his loan spell at Middlesbrough, while Kalvin Phillips was loaned out to Sheffield United. A portion of the transfer expenditure was also recovered through the sale of Oscar Bobb to Fulham for £27 million.

During the January transfer window, Manchester City were recorded as the highest-spending club in the Premier League, followed by Crystal Palace, who spent £83 million to sign Brennan Johnson and Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Crystal Palace emerged as the club with the highest net spending at £63 million, slightly higher than City’s figure of £57 million.

One day after the transfer window closed, Guardiola was asked whether City’s sporting director, Hugo Viana, deserved greater recognition for successfully securing the signings of Semenyo and Guehi. Guardiola’s response, however, was unexpected.

Guardiola: I Want the Club to Spend More Money

In a press conference, Guardiola stated that he felt slightly disappointed because Manchester City’s net spending over the past five years ranked only seventh in the Premier League.

He expressed his desire for City to be at the top in terms of net spending and questioned why the club did not invest more money.

Guardiola added that City’s strong position in previous years was inseparable from the level of investment that had been made.

He also stressed that the six clubs with higher net spending over the past five years should have been able to win the Premier League, the Champions League, or the FA Cup.

According to him, this was a matter of fact rather than opinion, and he was awaiting proof from those clubs.

Manchester United Lead the Five-Year Net Spending List

Guardiola’s comments referred to recent data showing that Manchester United are the club with the highest net spending over the past five years, amounting to -£684.6 million.

Arsenal sit in second place with -£675.7 million, followed by Chelsea with -£662 million. Tottenham occupy fourth place with -£578.8 million, Newcastle are fifth with -£430.6 million, and Liverpool rank sixth with -£423.7 million. Manchester City are seventh with net spending of -£397.7 million.

City Target a Place in the Carabao Cup Final

Manchester City will host Newcastle in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal on Wednesday, holding a 2-0 aggregate advantage.

Guardiola’s side previously won the competition for four consecutive seasons from 2018 to 2021, but have not reached the final since then.

Guardiola stated that he would continue to monitor Rayan Cherki’s condition after the player suffered a knock in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham on Sunday.

He also confirmed that Ruben Dias has returned to training after recovering from a muscle injury earlier in the year, while Jeremy Doku has yet to resume training following a calf injury sustained against Galatasaray.

Guardiola emphasized that City have the opportunity to reach their fifth Carabao Cup final in the last ten years.

He acknowledged that the first-leg result provides a good foundation, but stressed the importance of remaining cautious given Newcastle’s quality as a Champions League-level team.

Guardiola stated that his team must be physically and mentally prepared, deliver their best performance in front of their home supporters, and aim to secure a place at Wembley in March.