Many different things are required to create a successful football club but many would argue that the most important one is to get things right in the transfer market. Brighton are the poster-child club in that respect and over the past five years and more their ability to unearth incredible footballers for bargain fees has helped them massively outperform their financial strength.
Buying players like Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Alexis Mac Allister for £4.5m, £15m and £7m respectively, and then selling that trio within just a few years for a combined sum of around £213m, has seen the club generate huge profits in player trading. Where other sides, most notably the likes of Chelsea and Man United, have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on their transfer activity, canny Brighton have funded other areas of the club by buying low and selling high.
The Seagulls have also punched well above their weight on the pitch too and for the top sides spending money wisely is not about trying to generate profit, but about attempting to build a winning team. For a long time Man City have done very well in that regard. Kevin De Bruyne recently announced his intention to leave the club at the end of this season but his signing, back in 2015, was transformational.
He was not cheap, at a then-club record fee of £55m, but he has proved to be a bargain given the success he has helped his team achieve. City are not constrained in the same way as Brighton and they can afford to play at the top end of the transfer market. Club legends, such as Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, Bernardo Silva, Ederson, John Stones, Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri and others all arrived for huge fees. But all of those players fully justified – and then some – the massive outlay and have helped City dominate English football over the past decade.
Decline in 2024/25
City began the 2024/25 season as big favourites to claim the Premier League title for the fifth season in a row. Liverpool had lost Jurgen Klopp, Chelsea, Spurs, Man United, Newcastle and others had a lot of work to do, whilst Arsenal were deemed likely to push them close but come up short.
The season began as most expected it to, and after seven wins and two draws City were top of the pile after nine games. However, since then we have seen a remarkable slide in results, with Pep’s men slumping to four consecutive defeats and winning just one of the nine games that followed. After 31 games of the 2024/25 campaign City have lost an incredible, unimaginable, nine times and sit sixth in the league, 21 points off top spot.
Rodri’s Knee Injury Scuppers City
For many, the explanation for this downturn was the loss of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who suffered a bad knee injury in September 2024. However, others felt it must be about more than one player and have been desperately seeking an explanation as to why City all of a sudden looked so poor and really, nobody has fully answered that question. The truth is no doubt complex and multi-factorial, but many have pointed to the fact that a great side was allowed to grow old together.
Ederson, Stones, Nathan Ake, Mateo Kovacic, Gundogan, Silva, De Bruyne and Kyle Walker are all 30 or over. With Rodri missing through injury, there are a lot of old, tired legs in midfield. City have lost the ability to press opponents quickly, to recover their own shape when they are countered against and to break down stubborn opponents with a moment of magic. They are not the team they were.
Bad Signings Over an Extended Period
It has long been an accepted fact of football that you should strengthen from a position of strength. Adding one or two top players each season to a very good squad is the best way to maintain dominance. The Liverpool sides of the 1970s and 1980s did just that, whilst Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man United did likewise. And for a long time that is what City have done too.
Adding players when they are not truly needed keeps a squad fresh, maintains the desire and hunger, and keeps everyone on their toes. It also means players have time to integrate and do not need to hit the ground running immediately. The issue for City is not that they have not been signing players, but that over the past five years they have had far too many misses and not enough hits in the transfer market.
That has left them over-dependent on the old guard, with not enough new faces able to establish themselves or push the more experienced players onwards to higher levels. 2021/22 is a good place to start when we look at this issue because City made just the two signings (three if we include third-choice keeper Scott Carson on a free from Derby).
Jack Grealish & Julian Alvarez
The two players that came in were Jack Grealish, for £100m, and Julian Alvarez for around £18m. Grealish has delivered just 17 goals in 154 games and nowhere near the assists or creativity that was expected. Alvarez shows how City have got it wrong on both sides of the transfer market as, whilst they made a profit on the Argentine, selling him to Atletico Madrid for over £80m, he has been superb in Spain and his market value has increased.
Erling Haaland & Kalvin Phillips
The following season they signed two Leeds lads, Erling Haaland – born in the city when his father played for Leeds United – and Kalvin Phillips. The latter cost £45m, played just 31 times and now struggles for game time at Ipswich. Not exactly a great back-up for Rodri.
Matheus Nunes and Jeremy Doku
In 2023/24 they spent well over £100m on Matheus Nunes and Jeremy Doku, neither of whom has justified their fee, despite occasionally impressing. But the outgoings that year perhaps hurt even more, with Riyad Mahrez leaving and, worst of all, Cole Palmer. They got over £40m for the latter and that seemed like decent business. For about 10 games, by which time the Mancunian was showing what he was capable of when given a chance.
Savinho & İlkay Gündoğan
They did little business in the summer of 2024 and that was, in hindsight, a big mistake. They signed Savinho for £30m and it is probably too early to judge the youngster yet. It is certainly too early to judge the four expensive signings they made in the winter window. They also brought Gündoğan back on a free from Barca in the summer, a strange move all round.
Who knows if Rodri would have been able to carry City had he stayed fit, or if their slump was simply down to a collective loss of confidence. But there can be little doubt that over the past five years or so, City have not spent wisely and this has certainly been a huge factor in their demise this term.