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Pep Guardiola believes that clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona's success can be attributed to their spending habits. Earlier this week, the Manchester City manager answere critics who claimed that the only reason that the club is so successful is due to the exorbitant amounts of money they spend on transfers.
Manchester City are notorious for spending big during transfer windows. Under Guardiola alone, the club has managed to spend over £500 million since 2016. But the Manchester City manager is adamant that big clubs such as Real Madrid and Barcelona have also been guilty of splurging in recent years, but are not criticised like Manchester City.
Speaking after Manchester City's 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach in the UEFA Champions League earlier this week, Guardiola playfully quipped that his success was all down to the money the club has spent. He told the reporters:
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"We have a lot of money to buy a lot of incredible players. To be there you have to spend. Before, when United won and won and won, it was because they spent more money than the other ones. At Barcelona and Madrid, it was the same."
The Manchester City manager was asked to expand upon his comments in yesterday in his pre-match press conference ahead of City's Premier League clash against West Ham. The Spaniard explained:
"You can win one title with average players, but to win a lot of titles you need top, top, top players. And top players cost a lot of money, that was my reflection. It wasn’t sarcastic, it was the truth."
He also cited other European heavyweights such as Bayern Munich, Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona as examples of clubs who have spent more money than their competition in order to win more silverware. He continued:
"So when Bayern Munich or Barcelona, or Real Madrid or United or Juventus or Milan, or Glasgow Celtic or Rangers – who win more titles in Scotland – is because they have more money than other clubs. It’s the way we are doing it, every manager has his own way."
Manchester City are having a better season than Real Madrid and Barcelona
Although Pep Guardiola pointed out the similarities between the big clubs in his interview, Manchester City's season has been starkly different to that of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have had their struggles domestically this season, currently chasing Atletico Madrid at the top of the league table. Manchester City, on the other hand, are ten points clear at the top of the Premier League and are currently on a 17-match winning streak across all competitions.
Manchester City also look favourites to win the UEFA Champions League this season. The English outfit take a 2-0 lead into their 2nd leg against Borussia Monchengladbach. Real Madrid secured a slender 1-0 victory over Atalanta in their round of 16 tie, whereas Barcelona have an almost impossible task of overturning a 4-1 deficit against French champions PSG.
