Pep Guardiola has claimed that Manchester City’s critics would ‘kill’ him if the club had spent as much as Chelsea have since Todd Boehly’s takeover.
The Blues have splurged close to £1 billion ($1.3bn) since Boehly and Clearlake Capital took control in May 2022. And Guardiola believes City would have been criticised more harshly had they spent a similar amount on new players.
“I couldn’t sit here if we spent what Chelsea spent in the last two transfer windows – you would kill me,’ he told reporters. “You will kill me, that is for sure. We’d be under scrutiny like you couldn’t imagine. We have to see what happens in the market and if we can do it and to pay what we believe is fair. We wanted (Harry) Maguire and didn’t buy him because we didn’t want to pay, we wanted (Marc) Cucurella and didn’t pay, we wanted Alexis Sanchez and didn’t pay.
“In the end we will pay what is fair to do it. Otherwise we have the academy. We won’t be desperate just to get another player. I don’t criticise Chelsea for one second. I’m saying if we do it, we are dead, all around the world. People’s mindset has to change – everyone spends.. A lot. Not just City.”
Despite his annoyance at these apparent double standards, Guardiola insisted he had no issue with the way Chelsea have gone about their business.
He added: “They can do whatever they want. They want to do the best football possible for the fans, they want to win the titles and every season get better and better. Everybody wins. Tell me the truth: are you enjoying the transfer window? This player, the other one, every few months on Sky TV, a new player here, new player there. It’s so funny. I would love it to be shorter, I would like to finish the transfer window before the season but it is what it is.”
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