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The success of the “citizens” is not strictly due to money

There are no poor clubs in big football. Inter are in debt and with little prospects, and in five seasons they have spent half a billion euros on new arrivals, such as Liverpool. And money doesn’t automatically play football, because Tottenham have spent more. Marotta is smarter than Levi, so Inter’s transfer balance isn’t as bad as Spurs’. And Liverpool are doing a better job of buying and selling.

Manchester City are only the fifth spender in the table, having paid €708m for newcomers over five seasons. Now compare their football with the game of those higher up: Chelsea, Juventus, Manchester United and Barcelona. Big difference in favor of Guardiola. The coaches of the nominated clubs have spent more than Josep. But his team beat Real Madrid 4-0, and Pochettino will lead Chelsea without a Champions League ticket and a team to play.

Juventus will fight for the Europa League final today, e Manchester United and Barcelona were eliminated from this tournament. It’s also helpful to compare the costs of United and City. For ten years, the “devils” gave as much money for newcomers as a neighbor. The transfer balance of the Reds is worse. They are the only ones who are in the red by more than one billion euros. At the same time, we do not deny that the sheikhs could have used the tricks of accountants.

It appears they have registered the Horns and Hooves companies to avoid restrictions Uefa. But a PSG, Juventus, Barcelona and Chelsea similar transfer methods. Everyone spends a lot, but Guardiola has the strongest team on this list. Even off the pitch. Boeli, Laporte, Agnelli and Glazers have more questions about the quality of football decisions than Manchester City managers.

Behind the scenes of a club with a strong personality

A moment to praise Aitor “Chiki” Begiristain. Faithful companion and friend of Guardiola. Chiki worked as sporting director of Barcelona and created the Rijkaard team. He will celebrate the 20th anniversary of starting a new career this year. While Laporta took care of finances after winning the elections, Begiristain selected coaches and players. Chiki, supported by Roselle, brought in Ronaldinho, Deco, Julie and many more.

They will win the Champions League, and then influence the coach’s low class and Ronaldinho’s great party love. But Begiristain did not shy away from responsibility. The sporting director took the blame. The man Cruyff called Barcelona’s smartest player has become a manager of expensive projects. It should not be forgotten that many of the Blaugrana wanted to see Jose Mourinho at the helm, who is remembered in the club.

And Begiristain insisted on Guardiola’s candidacy without experience and results. Chiki was looking for a trainer with a philosophy and methods that would work for many years. As you can see, I was not wrong. Already in Manchester, Chiki tried to intercept Josep from Bayern. But his colleague Ferrand arrived in New York too late, the coach agreed to leave for Munich. Money is certainly important in football, it facilitates high-level tasks.

But without the Catalan and the Basque, Manchester City would not have reached the second final Champions League. Chiki is a person with rich life experience. For example, his wife’s sister was an ETA terrorist. She was her, and maybe she’s still in prison for the murder of a Catalan politician. Subsequently, his “colleagues” blackmailed Begiristain’s family, extorting money. But the finances of the Manchester City sheikhs are managed by another Spaniard – Ferran Soriano.

His wife runs a restaurant in Manchester which friends have opened together. It was Ferran who learned from Guardiola’s brother that Josep was leaving Bayern. There’s a whole Spanish gang in Manchester. Literally everywhere there are people, even club chefs. And one of the club’s scouts has known Guardiola for thirty years, he worked in Catalonia as a journalist. It was he who offered to conclude a contract in advance. And together they have an impressive streak Champions League.

Footballers hungry for success on the pitch

Sure, Guardiola is lucky. A team was put under him. Gundogan was immediately hired, because Begiristain understood that he was dealing with a player of Guardiola’s format. Now Ilkay is playing with the captain’s armband. But what unites Manchester City transfers and often distinguishes them from the signings of other wealthy clubs? We have collected a complete picture, the players are combined and not like Chelsea.

And everyone has something to prove. Manchester City could have bet on Neymar, Messi and Busquets. It attracts Kimmich, Lewandowski and Alcantara. And you get a team that gets eliminated in the first round of the playoffs Champions League. Guardiola is not without sin, he stupidly left the tournament a couple of times. But City’s transfer style is not to be rejected. Zinchenko was also invited for a reason, he won four times Premier League.

Not all clubs have record rookies at the start. Grealish, De Bruyne, Dias and Rodri played for Manchester City from the very first minutes. Holland and the Stones are important, as is Walker. It is clear that conflicts happen, Cancelu, Sterling and Sane are gone. Mahrez can’t be at the start when Bernard is so well prepared. But of all Guardiola’s expensive deals, only Mendy’s transfer can be called unsuccessful.

But Ederson and Holland, Bernardo and Gundogan are great deals. And everyone is hungry for victory. The Stones came from Everton. Now John is helping tactician Guardiola develop the idea with a new leader. Yesterday, Manchester City’s order surpassed Real Madrid’s individual chaos, difficult to calculate and read by analysts at the headquarters of the big clubs that Ancelotti has previously beaten.

But when former Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg, Aston Villa, Benfica and Monaco players are on the pitch, they simply want to reach the Champions League final. There isn’t a collection of small copies of the European Cup at home, like Kross and Modric. The former Barcelona managers who won the Champions League in the first decade of the century wanted victories of this magnitude. And the players have never experienced them.

Only Ake has won this trophy with Chelsea, but he was sitting on the bench. Manchester City are now fit and preparing for the epilogue. It remains not to give way to Inzaghi and ten Strega in the final, because football is not only about victories. Guardiola knows that he hasn’t won the Champions League for eleven years. In the coach’s office there is an inscription:

I got better after failures and regressed after successes. Success deforms us as people, relaxes us, makes us worse, makes us fall in love with ourselves. And failure is the exact opposite, it shapes us, makes us stronger and more holistic.

These are the words of Marcelo Bielsa, Guardiola’s idol. Manchester City are, of course, big money by footballing definition. But on the pitch is a team of alive people with a clear attacking philosophy and impressive tactical prowess. They play football beautifully, they clearly cut the kings out of Real Madrid.