City was the biggest spender in the midseason window for the second year running following the signings of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi. It has spent more than USD 500 million over the past 12 months and dominated English football with its exorbitant transfer dealings since being bought by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi in 2008.
That has led to criticism over its spending power, but manager Guardiola pointed out that six of City’s Premier League rivals had a higher net spend in recent years and put pressure on them to emulate his team’s success.