As Manchester City splash more cash on Monaco left-back Benjamin Mendy, with the fee agreed around £49.2 million, pundits and media alike have scoffed at the transfer fees which have taken City's summer spending to over £200 million.
The Citizens have become the first side in Premier League history to pass this figure in one transfer window and although Pep Guardiola may be paying over the odds for these players, City are getting their number one transfer targets at every turn.
They have added one of the top Premier League right-backs in Kyle Walker, then strengthened that position further by bringing in Real Madrid's Danilo. With the departure of Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Aleksander Kolorov, they were in desperate need of full-backs and Pep Guardiola has identified the players that he wants and the board have provided the funds to bring them to the club.
The players they are bringing in are great improvements on those that have departed. Benjamin Mendy, at just 23-years-old, is expected to be the first choice left back for the Citizens and made the most open play crosses in Champions League (57) last season in an exciting Monaco side.
Manchester City were an ageing side last season in need of a complete overhaul. They have moved on eight players over the aged 30 or over this window and replaced them with younger models. Sagna (34) and Zabaleta (32) have been replaced by Walker (27) and Danilo (26). In goal, Caballero (35) and Hart (30) have been replaced by 23-year-old Ederson, whose quality remains to be proven but he is a goalkeeper in the mould that Guardiola likes and at a young age, Pep can improve him further.
One of the best-attacking midfielders in Europe, Bernardo Silva, is just 22 and could play a vital part at the Etihad for years to come. City got Nolito (30) and Jesus Navas (31) off the wage bill as well as receiving nearly £10 million for a player who has never made an appearance for them in Aaron Mooy.
Premier League football is a huge business now, disregarding incomings and outgoings for transfers, Manchester City earnt just shy of £150 million last season. That is a huge chunk of money to cover their transfer fees and does not include their European prize money or funds raised from the pre-season tour.
Then we get to the elephant in the room. Sheikh Mansour has invested hugely in the north-west club, but he has not even scratched the surface of his individual wealth. His net worth is around £17 billion and his family fortune is around $1 trillion. Manchester City are a club with the finances able to attract any player in the world and, as long as they adhere to the financial fair play rules, they should be able to spend as much as they wish to bring top class talent to the Premier League.
Like it or lump it, football's transfer fees have become extortionate. It is simply the modern world we now live in. With Arsenal spending big on Alexandre Lacazette, Man United on Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea on Alvaro Morata, City should not receive any extra criticism for attempting to ‘buy the league.’
