2 days ago
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Liverpool have gone all out in the transfer window and while Manchester City fans may enjoy the hypocrisy they would rather enjoy trophies
"We will be back." So said Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in a punchy end-of-season address designed to pump up the supporters after a deflating season.
A man who always likes to back up his words saw them followed through within weeks as the Blues signed four new players, including a left-back, to have a new feel to their squad for the Club World Cup. The optimism from City, with their summer signings and the fresh faces in the coaching team, was growing.
Any disappointment at losing out on Florian Wirtz, and losing out on him to Liverpool, was replaced when a deal was struck for Rayan Cherki in what seemed like a relative bargain. Tijjani Reijnders instantly settled into the side, and a left-back was always going to be popular.
City were doing things their way, which meant even a shock Club World Cup exit at the hands of a Saudi Arabian team couldn't really dampen the enthusiasm. When the club pinched James Trafford from under Newcastle's noses to set up a succession plan for Ederson, things were even better.
How is it then that City have stumbled to the end of the transfer window, with an air of deflation that rather than closing the gap on the teams that finished above them, Liverpool and Arsenal appear to have left City further behind?
Two defeats in the first three Premier League games will do that, but also the fact that Liverpool have changed the transfer game. Arsenal have regularly spent a lot under Mikel Arteta and it hasn't led to them winning the title, but with Liverpool it has always been different.
Jurgen Klopp preached his moralism as the high priest of football saying that he could never countenance spending high fees on players and Liverpool were not able to spend like City could. Arne Slot has been less confrontational than his predecessor but still managed to lump City in with PSG in April as two teams with 'unlimited amounts of money to spend'.
City fans can enjoy pointing out the hypocrisy at Anfield, with Liverpool breaking the British transfer record not once but twice in the same window to spend more this summer than the Blues have ever spent in one window. But just as Blues reminded their Liverpool counterparts of their respective trophy hauls during the supposed 'Guardiola and Klopp' era, now the Premier League trophy sits on Merseyside.
And with Alexander Isak adding to Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and the rest that have walked through Liverpool's doors this summer, you can certainly forgive Liverpool fans for getting giddy that more silverware will be on its way - at the expense of City.
City are going about their business as they always have, and they have brushed aside heavy spending from the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and United before. Not only do they need their recruitment to be right again to do that though, they also have to compete with Liverpool - a club that is ran better than the rest - trying to blow everyone out of the water.
Even if City get back to where they wanted to be, that still may not be enough to catch Liverpool after their chance of strategy. The chairman's confidence has never felt more uncertain.
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