Pep Guardiola claimed the media would “kill him” had Man City spent what Chelsea have done over recent transfer windows, writes Stan Smith.
With the high-profile signings of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia being completed this week, Chelsea have now spent almost £1bn on transfers in just three transfer windows since an ownership group fronted by Todd Boehly took control of the club.
Asked about how difficult the club were finding the summer transfer window, Guardiola said: “For Chelsea it’s easier than us, that’s for sure.
“I couldn’t sit here if we spend what Chelsea spent in two transfer windows.
“You would kill me, that’s for sure! We would be under scrutiny like you cannot imagine.
“Just look at the net spend for the last five or six years or even just this year for the position that we are.”
Chelsea’s spending has drawn widespread criticism but Guardiola was eager to separate himself from the detractors, insisting: “They can do whatever they want, I am not criticising Chelsea for one second.
“Everyone spends, everyone here, in Spain and everywhere. Everyone spends a lot, not just Man City.
“Arsenal in three weeks spent on three incredible players because they want to beat us.”.
“Everybody complains about Saudi Arabia but when Saudi Arabia knock the door to all the clubs, they open the door, red carpet, ‘Who do you want my friend?’”.
On his own club’s transfer strategy, Guardiola maintained that the club will only “pay what we believe is fair”, before listing Harry Maguire, Marc Cucurella, and Alexis Sanchez as examples of past transfers that the club pulled out of due to the fee.
Issuing an update on his own squad, Guardiola also added: “A lot of injuries, it happens because the schedule is the schedule”, reiterating that his players “have no time to rest”.
He also reported a new injury, following Wednesday night’s European super cup victory, “Julian (Alvarez) had a problem, he was in discomfort and didn’t want to take risk”.
Bernardo Silva was in Portugal on Wednesday, having not travelled with the squad to Greece, Guardiola believes he “will be back soon”, adding that “maybe we need to add someone else”.
