Guardiola denies Man City spent big due to fears of transfer ban

Pep Guardiola denied Friday that Manchester City spent big in January in case the club are hit with a transfer embargo for alleged Premier League financial rule breaches.

City splashed out around £170 million ($211 million) on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez before Monday’s transfer deadline.

They are much-needed reinforcements for a side who are well off the pace in the Premier League and who just scraped into the Champions League play-offs.

Guardiola, whose side meet third-tier Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, was asked whether the club’s striking outlay was triggered by the possibility they would be hit by a transfer ban.

He revealed that he was expecting the outcome of the hearing into 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial regulations within the coming weeks.

A transfer embargo is one of a number of sanctions City could face if found guilty, with other options including a fine, points deductions or even demotion. The club deny wrongdoing.

Guardiola feels his club are incorrectly judged because of their owners’ wealth, saying their spending still does not match that of their rivals.

“In the last five years, we are the last team in the top six for net spend,” he said. “Even after what we have spent in this transfer window, we are away from Chelsea, (Manchester) United, Arsenal, Tottenham, even from Liverpool.

“The reason why is we have sold a lot in the last seasons but, even with that, I know (people say about) this club, it is always ‘just about the money’.

“Respect the other ones but in one month I think there will be a verdict and a sentence and after we will see my opinion of what happened so far. Still, at the end, every club can do whatever they want.”