12 hours ago
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However the Premier League title race pans out this season, for once figures at the Emirates and Anfield won't be able to point to Manchester City's spending as a key differentiator.
In recent years, figures connected to Arsenal and Liverpool have frequently criticised City's financial power, whether the evidence stacked up or not.
Arsene Wenger regularly criticises City's ownership and approach, and Jurgen Klopp was never shy of lighting the financial fires before he faced Pep Guardiola's side. He once claimed they were one of "three clubs in world football who can do what they want financially."
Even Arne Slot joined in last year. In an answer about the strength of the Premier League, he said that Paris St-Germain were "a team that, together with Manchester City, have unlimited amounts of money to spend."
If that is true, then City have clearly decided not to spend it this summer. They are being comfortably outspent by Arsenal and Liverpool to set up what looks like an enthralling title race this season.
City pulled out of the race to sign Florian Wirtz due to the fees involved, leaving the coast clear. Instead, they opted to sign Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki for a combined fee of £77.3million rather than spending a similar sum on Morgan Gibbs-White alone.
Across 2025, the Blues have signed eight players for a total outlay of £291million. That's an average cost of around £36.3million per player, and their most expensive deal is the £59million spent on signing Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt.
This summer alone, Liverpool will spend more than City's figure across the last two windows, and in Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, they will spend more on individuals than City did on Marmoush.
It's a similar story in North London. When they complete a deal for Viktor Gyokeres, their summer spending will be close to the £200million mark.
All three clubs will clearly have a different feel next season. Liverpool could have two new full-backs, a world-class playmaker in Wirtz, and a new No. 9 in Ekitike. Arsenal have fixed problems in midfield with a deal for Martin Zubimendi and at striker with the signing of Gyokeres.
City's signings have mostly added more depth to their squad, but Reijnders and Cherki could certainly put a different slant on their midfield, and Marmoush will remain an all-purpose attacker, even with Erling Haaland available.
It's a very different narrative this season, and it will be interesting to see if Guardiola points to the significant spending at Arsenal and Liverpool during the campaign. You couldn't blame him if he did.
It has also set up a title race that the bookies have declared too hard to call, but it is certainly unusual for City to be heading into a campaign as third favourites, even if there isn't much to separate them from Arsenal or Liverpool for the oddsmakers.
City's struggles last season will come into that, but Arsenal and Liverpool clearly also sense a time to attack and try to make the most of any potential drop in standards at the Etihad.
The narrative around City's spending often didn't stand up to scrutiny, but that didn't stop figures associated with their rivals from firing a few barbs. Maybe this season the shoe will be on the other foot.
Man City have launched their new away shirt for the 2025/26 season, featuring an all-black design inspired by the club's earliest-known kit.
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