Pep Guardiola joked that he was irritated with his Manchester City superiors for not splashing out more in the transfer window as he took aim at their reputation for big spending. City secured Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi in January, pushing their outlay over the past 12 months to £430million. Nevertheless, they have also recouped hundreds of millions through sales, and across the last five years six clubs – including their Carabao Cup semi-final opponents Newcastle – boast a higher net spend than City.
Having repeatedly challenged the perception that the club’s achievements are down to their financial muscle, Guardiola seized the chance to highlight that expectations and pressure should now rest with the six sides that have outspent them: Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Newcastle, and Liverpool. “I’m a little bit sad and upset because in net spend the last five years we are seventh in the Premier League. I want to be the first, I don’t understand why the club don’t spend more money. I am a little bit grumpy with them,” he joked.
“But like we won in the past because we spent a lot, now six teams have to win the Premier Leagues, Champions Leagues and FA Cups because they spend more in the last five years. These are facts. It’s not an opinion.
“You can say an opinion, like you say you play good or bad against Spurs – we can agree or disagree. But they are facts. Good luck to the six teams who are in front of us for net spend for the last five years. Let’s go. I’m waiting. That’s a nice quote, eh?”
City boast a 2-0 lead over Newcastle going into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final and will be eager to secure another Wembley appearance if they can achieve something they’ve found difficult this season – protecting their advantages.
“This is the point of today and tomorrow. We have a chance to make our fifth final in ten years in the Carabao Cup. Of course a good result, I prefer to start 2-0 up but I know how many times we play against Newcastle and the pride they have as a Champions League team,” he said.
“We have to be prepared and see how the players recover from a tough game at Spurs and play our game with our people and our fans and try to reach Wembley in March.”