It was May 2016 when Manchester City lost 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu and were eliminated from the Champions League semifinals against Real Madrid (0-0 in the first leg). It was the first time in history that the citizens went so far in the competition, with Manuel Pellegrini on the bench, and it was also the last.
When Pep Guardiola landed in Manchester just a few weeks later, in a star performance, the goal was clear: to dominate in England and storm Europe. Four years later, after a knockout in the second round and three in a row in the quarterfinals, the second half is still a pending account for City … and a cause for fierce criticism as it is reinforced each year for that round and has already been spent 775 million on transfers in the four years of the Catalan at the club.
Monaco, Liverpool, Tottenham and Olympique de Lyon, all of them European eliminations cut by a common pattern: “Pep continues to make the same mistakes for overthinking things”, they were asked in the Daily Mail. The tactical choice of the Catalan coach, as in previous years, was the main point of debate when criticizing the performance of the English. In The Guardian they pointed in the same direction: “Why did Guardiola take away enjoyment and freedom from Manchester City?”
The elimination against the seventh classified in Ligue 1 has hurt. And the staff knows it. De Bruyne, one of the most prominent, recognized it just at the end of the meeting: “Another year, the same story.” For his part, Laporte was critical of the VAR's performance, decisive in the second goal: “A difficult decision to accept.”
The City has spent 78.8 million for the next course
After winning only the League Cup last year and Despite spending 775 million in Guardiola's four seasons as coach, City have taken the lead in the spending race for next season despite the crisis. The citizens have already spent 78.8 million for the next course. 45.3 have paid Bournemouth for central Nathan Aké, 23 million, more variables, paid Valencia for Ferran Torres and finally signed two right-backs. The first is the Brazilian Yan Couto (Curitiba) for six million and the second is the Burkinabe Kaboré (Mechelen) for 4.5