Pep Guardiola today scoffed at the allegations Manchester City Success has been bought and their accomplishments have shown to outweigh their costs.

City were active once again in the January window, snapping up Antoine Semenyo and Marc Gueye while allowing Oscar Bob and Stefan Ortega to depart for a net cost of around £55 million.

But the Catalans were quick to highlight their relative lack of spending in recent years compared to their Premier League rivals.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow night’s EFL Cup semi-final, second leg NewcastleHe said: “I’m a bit sad and upset because in net spending over the last five years, Manchester City are seventh in the Premier League. I want to be first! I don’t understand how the club doesn’t spend more money. So I’m a bit angry with them.

“But, with that place, as we won in the past, because we spent a lot, now six teams have to win the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup, because they have spent more in the last five years. These are facts. You can say opinions like ‘you played well’ or ‘you played badly’ – we can agree or disagree but those are facts.

“Good luck to the six teams ahead of us in spending the net over the last five years, let’s go! I’m looking forward to…”

In terms of net spending over that period, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle and Liverpool have all outspent City. Apart from City, Liverpool are the only team to win the Premier League.

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