How much does a title cost Man City?

On average, Man City needs $48 million in net player transfer costs for a title under Pep Guardiola, more efficient than many European clubs.

On February 26, 2023, Man Utd won their first title under coach Erik ten Hag, the English League Cup after six years, and some of their former players started talking about the "quadruple".

Asked at a press conference the following day if Man Utd were back, Guardiola said with a mysterious smile: "Yes, if they spend a little more money. Because they haven't spent any money for a long time, right?"

Man City players celebrate winning the Champions League on June 11, 2023 at Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: Reuters

During Guardiola's seven years at Man City, the team was repeatedly labeled as "using money to buy titles". In the first two seasons, they spent up to 582 million USD on players, the most in Europe during the same period. In January 2018, former Man Utd defender Gary Neville wrote on Twitter : "Man City spends 100 million more than other teams but still complains they don't have money. Why?" When Man City lost the Premier League title to Liverpool in the 2019-2020 season, Neville said: "They will have to spend more money in the summer".

Man City's spending on transfers has been on a downward trend since Guardiola's third season. In four of the last five seasons, they have spent less money on players than Man Utd. Man Utd's quadruple ambitions have vanished, while Man City's treble has become a reality. That's why the Spanish coach hinted that the neighboring club also "uses money to buy titles".

Over the past seven years, Man City have been the fourth-biggest spenders in Europe, behind Chelsea, Barca and Juventus, with Man Utd fifth. These figures may have been affected by other factors, such as Juventus and Barca manipulating the transfer fees for Miralem Pjanic and Arthur Melo, which inflated the figures. But the chart above shows how much money teams have spent to upgrade their squads.

Another indicator of a team's operational efficiency is net transfer spending, which is the money spent on players minus the revenue from player sales. Because it would be unfair for teams because they do not always lose money from player transfers. For example, Man City recruited striker Ferran Torres for $36.5 million in 2020, then sold him to Barca for $60 million a year later, making a profit of $23.5 million.

Of the top 10 European clubs according to UEFA’s index after the 2022-2023 season, only Real Madrid will make a profit from player transfers, with $17 million. The remaining nine teams all lost money, with Man Utd the heaviest at $975 million. Because they spent $1.268 billion on players, but only earned $293 million from sales.

In terms of net spending, Man City is the third most expensive club in Europe after Man Utd and Chelsea. They spent $1.354 billion, earned $627 million, and lost $727 million. The question is, is the loss of $727 million from transfers worth it for Man City?

Simon Jordan is the former owner of Premier League club Crystal Palace, and he values efficiency over pure revenue and profit figures. Ahead of the 2022-23 season, Jordan said Liverpool were more efficient at football than Man City. "A team spending $100 million will have to achieve five times the success on the pitch as a team spending $20 million," he explained. "Guardiola was given $126 million, Klopp only had a budget of $35 million, but Man City and Liverpool are still on par."

Jordan is right, but Man City's treble in 2022-23 may change his mind. At least Neville has a different opinion about this team. "Guardiola's success is not just about money," said the former Man Utd player. "Over the past five years, many other teams have spent more than Man City. So their success is thanks to the ability of Guardiola and his team."

In terms of net transfer spending per trophy won, Man City ranks sixth among Europe's top 10 clubs . Their $727 million loss has helped them win 14 trophies, an average of $52 million per trophy, less than Man Utd, Chelsea, Roma, Barca and Juventus.

The chart above shows how inefficient Man Utd and Chelsea are, with the "Red Devils" spending $195 million on a title, which does not include the Premier League or Champions League. Meanwhile, Chelsea also spent $146 million on a title, but has both the Premier League and Champions League during this period.

Real have been the most efficient of Europe’s top 10 clubs, making a $17 million profit on transfers and winning 17 trophies in the past seven years. Only PSG and Bayern have won fewer trophies, but they have three Champions Leagues. However, Florentino Perez’s team is in a transitional phase and may have to spend more money in the next few years.

On average, a top 10 European club spends $43 million in net transfer spending per title, which means Man City are close to that. The new Champions League champions are not the most efficient team in Europe, but they cannot be said to have bought the title with money.

Xuan Binh

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