Pep: No need for City to spend £100m on player

Pep Guardiola has said that Manchester City do not need to spend £100 million on one player to compete with the best teams in Europe.

City have spent heavily since their takeover by Abu Dhabi in 2008 but their record transfer remains the £63.6m they paid Atletico Madrid for Rodri in 2019.

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Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan have all spent more on a single transfer but Guardiola said City do not need to splurge on one player.

He was speaking ahead of City’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund, who will have £100m-rated striker Erling Haaland in their ranks at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

“No, not at all,” Guardiola told a news conference on Monday. “Not for the fact we have not spent for one player a lot of money, gives you advantage. Football is a team game, everyone makes his contribution.

“The guys who doesn’t play makes his contribution, the backroom staff and everyone, so it’s not just one player, it’s for absolutely everyone.

“So far the club has decided not to spend not close to £100m for a player, or more than £100m on a player, maybe in the future it is going to happen if they decide it is necessary to improve the team for the next five, 10 years, for many reasons.

“But so far the club, the organisation, the CEO, the sporting director decided not to do it and that’s why they didn’t do it. But maybe in the future, I don’t know.”

Haaland has been linked with a move away from Dortmund in the summer although Guardiola has already suggested City cannot afford the 20-year-old.

At his news conference, Guardiola branded the Norwegian “exceptional” but midfielder Rodri insists City have no special plans to stop the youngster.

“Of course it is impressive his performances since he appeared,” Rodri said. “He is only 20 years old and he is scoring lots of goals but we are not focused on only one Player.

“Borussia Dortmund is a big, big team in Europe.They have a mix of young and experienced players. They have an offensive squad so we have to be aware and try and play our game.”

Guardiola is looking to progress to the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time since becoming City boss in 2016.

City have dominated English football since his arrival but Guardiola insists they don’t need to lift the Champions League to be considered on a par with Europe’s best.

“We are already a big club, not team, big club,” he added. “We are already but of course everyone here wants to try to do better in this competition.

“I want the players to win this game and after that Leeds and then Dortmund. We’ll see. The mentality, the focus, the mistakes, if City deserve or Dortmund deserve to be in the semifinals.”