Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has taken a swipe at Chelsea, as the London club's seemingly endless spending spree continues.
Chelsea wrapped up the signings of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia this week, taking their spending to close to the £1 billion mark since Todd Boehly bought the club in the summer of 2022.
There has been much made of the enormous transfer outlay, with Chelsea seemingly taking advantage of a financial fair play loophole by offering eight or nine-year contracts to their new players, something which allows them to swerve spending rules by spreading transfer fees over a longer period.
Pep Guardiola says Man City would be under "scrutiny that you could not imagine" if they had spent what Chelsea have in recent times 💰 pic.twitter.com/umitCXnFFT
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 19, 2023
Pep Guardiola takes Chelsea swipe
In any case, Guardiola was fairly critical of the situation at his Friday press conference, appearing to suggest that Man City would face a lot more criticism had they been the ones splashing so much cash.
"For Chelsea it's easier than for us," he said. "I have no criticism, they can do what they want. But we would be under scrutiny like you cannot imagine.
"I wouldn't be sitting here if we spent what Chelsea have spent in two transfer windows - you [media] would kill me.
"We have to see what happens in the market and if we can do it and to pay what we believe is fair.
“We wanted (Harry) Maguire and didn’t buy him because we didn’t want to pay, we wanted (Marc) Cucurella and didn’t pay, we wanted Alexis Sanchez and didn’t pay.
“In the end we will pay what is fair to do it. Otherwise we have the academy. We won’t be desperate just to get another player."
Introducing a new Blue! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/vdHynMOMti
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 18, 2023
Man City spending v Chelsea
While City have spent big for past 15 years, they have been a little thriftier in recent times, even managing to secure the services of Erling Haaland for just over £50 million.
In defence of their club, City fans are able to point to the number of trophies they have picked up since they were blessed with Abu Dhabi riches.
For Chelsea though, it remains to be seen if Boehly's vast spending power will lead to an increase in silverware over the coming years.
