Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola couldn’t resist a swipe at Liverpool and Arsenal over their transfer expenditure, with the Reds having broken the British record twice this summer alone
17:45, 19 Sep 2025Updated 21:16, 19 Sep 2025
Pep Guardiola has spoken about Liverpool and Arsenal’s transfer spending this summer
Pep Guardiola believes Liverpool receive more lenient treatment over their transfer expenditure compared to Manchester City. He said the same of Arsenal too, who his side face in the Premier League on Sunday.
Fresh from winning the title last season, the Reds have splashed £446m on new players for Arne Slot in just one window – they even broke the British transfer record twice over. Liverpool claimed the title from rivals City, who had taken a stranglehold of the Premier League winning it four times in a row.
Since the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign City have spent more than £1bn on replenishing their squad, and in that same timeframe Arsenal – the runners-up in each of the past three seasons – have spent £984m.
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“I want to say to my friend Mikel Arteta, if he wins the title, it will be just because he spent, not because he worked a lot or his players,” Guardiola commented at his pre-Arsenal press conference on Friday afternoon.
The City boss continued: “It’s like Liverpool. If Arne (Slot) wins again, it will be because he spent a lot of money. Right? Because it’s not just Man City that happened. It’s for all of them.
“Every club can do whatever they want. I know how they’ve been treated is completely different, but what he wants to spend is because they want it and it’s fine.
“All I can say is they have been wise. They spent what they believe they can to compete against the best teams in the Premier League and Europe.”
We are only four matches into the 2025/26 campaign but already City trail their two biggest title rivals.
Liverpool have not slipped up once yet, while the Gunners’ only dropped points so far this season when they lost 1-0 at Anfield. City suffered back-to-back defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton, sandwiched between wins over Wolves and Manchester United.
Their points deficit, and ultimately the pressure on Guardiola to improve the situation, will only increase if they fall to another loss at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
“[To] see the team going up. That is all my concern right now. See the team make a step forward every day,” Guardiola added.
“We’re not going to win the Premier League on Sunday. We’re not going to lose the Premier League on Sunday. So we see the team, that we are better than last season there, and we are better and continue a little bit, many good things that we have done in these two games, and continue with that.”
Liverpool have the opportunity to throw down the gauntlet to their foes more than 24 hours before they kick-off in North London. The Reds host bitter Merseyside rivals Everton at Anfield in an early Saturday clash.
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