Manchester City's Success Came at a High Price

While there can be little doubt that Manchester City are deserved Premier League champions this year, it is still important to remember how the club’s recent success – five Premier League wins in the past six years – came to fruition.

Since the Abu Dhabi United Investment Group acquired Manchester City in 2008, the club’s new leadership under chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has transformed the club from mid-table mediocracy to a global footballing powerhouse, winning seven Premier League titles since their maiden win in 2011/12. City’s success has always been eyed with suspicion though, as it wouldn’t have been possible without the financial muscle of its Emirati owners.

As the following chart shows, no club in world football has spent as much money on transfers over the past 15 years as City has under Abu Dhabi ownership, when taking transfer proceeds into account. According to Transfermarkt.com, a German website specializing on football transfers, Manchester City’s net transfer spending (transfer spending minus transfer proceeds) since 2008 amounts to a whopping €1.45 billion ($1.57 billion), outspending local rival Manchester United by almost €200 million and formerly Russian- and now American-owned Chelsea by more than €300 million. City also faces more than 100 Premier League charges for allegedly breaching financial regulations, further clouding its latest triumph.

That is not to belittle the club's accomplishments on the pitch. After all, "money doesn't score goals" as German coaching legend Otto Rehagel famously said in 1995. Looking across town at the other Manchester club is enough to illustrate that money alone doesn't guarantee success. Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, Manchester United has struggled to live up to its name, despite spending nearly as much as its local rival.