BIG SPENDING CAN’T GO ON...
...says Pep after City’s record £210m spree!
PREMIER LEAGUE spending cannot continue at the current rate, according to Pep Guardiola — despite Manchester City’s summer spree. No British club have ever committed to such an expensive overhaul in one transfer window, with City sanctioning five firstteam signings for £210million.
It takes the money lavished on Guardiola’s watch to around £400m and there remains interest in a central defender and Alexis Sanchez.
The Catalan claimed yesterday that transfer fees would eventually plateau and defended the club’s revamp by suggesting it is a one-off. ‘I think it is unsustainable,’ Guardiola said. ‘Sooner or later it’s going to finish. It started with Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo going for £80m and then Gareth Bale for £85m.
‘Everything went more expensive. Now with Neymar. But it is going to finish. We didn’t have full backs and you have to buy full backs. We bought three and the market is so demanding for all the teams, not just City.’
Guardiola asked sporting director Txiki Begiristain about the possibility of a completely new side on arrival in 2016 but was told changes must be made over a number of windows. Now, after moulding a younger, more energetic squad, the City boss believes their turnover will soften.
‘In the next three or four years City will buy one, two, maybe three players,’ he said, ‘not what happened this summer.’