Manchester City ends spending spree: Brian Marwood
The cash flow has finally come to an end. Manchester City, in recent times, has come under scathing criticism because of their heavy spending to buy new players this season. Consequently, City’s Chief Football Administrator, Brian Marwood, has claimed that
the spending spree has now come to an end.
This summer, Manchester City spent over a £100 million to buy new players including Yaya Toure, David Silva, Jerome Boateng, James Milner, Aleksandar Kolarov and Mario Balotelli. Last season, City had spent a lot of money to strengthen their squad as well.
As of now, it is reported that City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour, has spent over £500 million in the last 2 years, in order to buy new players and pay their wages.
However, this is not a problem for Sheikh Mansour, as he would love to invest more in the club. Despite the reports of heavy losses made by City, Mansour’s wealth is increasing. Recently, he was named as the richest person in football, surpassing Lakshmi
Mittal, the owner of Queens Park Rangers. The real problem is that UEFA has introduced new regulations making it an obligation for clubs to control their finances.
The real purpose of these regulations is to bring all the clubs at par with each other. So, according to the new rules, clubs would have to maintain their losses within the £39 million cap. After three years, the clubs would be bound to at least break even,
as far as their financial statements are concerned. Otherwise, the clubs would not be allowed to take part in any European competition, including the Champions League.
These rules have been announced at a time when City has reported a loss of £121 million, the second highest in English football history. So, it is generally believed that City would fail to meet all such obligations in controlling their finances. However,
Marwood has come out to speak about the future plans of his club, and according to him the desired status has already been achieved, which means that their spending days are already over.
Marwood claimed that the real purpose of the spending this season was to improve City’s squad. In the last two years, City has improved from a 10th place to a European finish. While in this season, they are challenging the best for the title.
Moreover, they have great players in their squad, including the likes of Yaya Toure, David Silva, Carlos Tevez and others. So the team is well past their building phase, while now is the time for them to deliver the results.
Apart from that, Marwood said that his club is following a policy of getting hold of young promising players. He said that the only exception was Yaya Toure, but he believed that the signing of this African maestro was a necessity. The real expenditure for
City is to sustain these players right now. They have a squad full of world class players, which is directly translated into a bigger wage bill. For example, Yaya Toure is being paid £220,000 per week, which is a monstrous amount by any standards. However,
Marwood believed that the players are being paid according to their actual worth; declining the allegation that City has attracted big players by paying them obnoxious amounts.
Nevertheless, Marwood has rightly defended the policy of City’s spending. When Chelsea was taken over by Roman Abramovich, the club reported a record loss of English history. Investment is always required if a club is trying to keep up with the best clubs
in English football. However, City hasn’t stopped the spending extravaganza by choice but because of need. So despite their success or their failure, it would not be feasible for City to spend such big amounts again, because that would not allow them to play
in the Champions League.
City’s squad has grown in the last two years, and they seem to be a force to reckon with. It seems that all that money has brought in its fruits, which is obvious from City’s second place in the current season. So it is in the better interest of the club
that rather than wasting more money, the higher officials have decided to develop their current squad. With the quality that they have, the club has the potential to go a long way in the future.
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