Pep Guardiola says Manchester City will not pay £100m for Wolves’ Rúben Neves
Pep Guardiola said Manchester City “are not going to pay £100m for a holding midfielder” such as Rúben Neves of Wolves or any other similar footballer to provide competition for Fernandinho.
City are at home to Wolves on Monday evening with the champions unlikely to strengthen in defensive midfield despite Guardiola’s wish to add a second specialist in the position.
Although Fernandinho will be 34 by the end of the season Guardiola said City do not currently have the finance to buy a replacement.
When put to him that Neves might be the type required Guardiola said: “He’s an excellent player but there are many clubs in the world, many holding midfielders in the world, and most of them can play here. That’s not the point.
“Most of them are under contracts. A month ago, I started reading – ‘Rúben Neves, £100m’. That is not going to happen, we are not going to pay £100m for a holding midfielder. Of course, in all departments in the club, we have in every position four or five or six options – depending on age, what we believe and, of course, the price.
“The most expensive one was Riyhad [Mahrez, £60m last summer] and he earns far away from what the top teams pay. Our wage bill for the players is eighth or ninth or 10th in Europe, so there are eight or nine clubs where the wages are higher than Manchester City pay.
“We try to be stable in everything. When we spent a lot [two summers ago] – it was because the team was old – it was an average 30-31 years old and that’s why we did it. But we cannot do it every season. We have a limit and cannot spend more so that’s why we need to be careful with the players and try next season to see what we can do to improve.”
Ilkay Gündogan, who often deputises for Fernandinho, has a contract that expires in 18 months’ time. “He knows what we want [regarding his long-term future] – it’s in our hands.
“Gündogan played the last two games like a holding midfielder [against Rotherham United and Burton Albion], he had more space than usual – but he was so clever. He made an incredible assist and a lot of passes before the finish. His quality is incredible, we knew that.
“Unfortunately, the first season he had a long injury, like [Benjamin] Mendy last season – and when he’s fit, he’s an incredible player. He can play that holding midfield role, he has the quality and the vision to pass. When he’s close to the box, he arrives in the right tempo and the right moment to score a goal. He’s a fantastic player.”
Kevin De Bruyne appeared to walk straight down the tunnel when being substituted after 67 minutes against Burton in the 9-0 Carabao Cup win, Guardiola doing so to protect him following his latest injury.
The manager shrugged off the question of whether De Bruyne had a problem with the decision. “I don’t know what happened, he didn’t speak to me, so I don’t know what happened,” Guardiola said. “If he has a problem he knows where I am, so I don’t know, really. I didn’t speak with him so that one time I cannot say what he thinks because I don’t know.”