Chapter 324: The Premier League's Crazy Arms Race, Is Manchester City Throwing the Season?

Chapter 324: The Premier League's Crazy Arms Race, Is Manchester City Throwing the Season?

"The competition in the Premier League this season is really intense!" Under a large parasol on a beach in Catalonia, Lin Quan and Guardiola were relaxing on lounge chairs, enjoying the sea breeze. Guardiola, a workaholic even on vacation, was engrossed in a newspaper.

"Is that so?" Lin casually asked.

"Yes, the big clubs in the Premier League have been very active in the transfer market, especially your neighbors, Manchester United, who have been crazily buying players!" Lin remembered that after Moyes was sacked, the Dutchman Van Gaal took over the reins at United. He seemed to have spent a lot of money, much of it wastefully.

Lin took a look at the newspaper and, indeed, Manchester United had made big moves this summer. As soon as the transfer window opened, they hastily brought in Luke Shaw from Southampton for £33 million. They also bought midfielder Herrera from Athletic Bilbao for £31 million, Di Maria from Real Madrid for £60 million, and defender Rojo from Benfica for £20 million. Besides, they borrowed Falcao from Monaco at an annual cost of £6 million.

Manchester United spent a total of €180 million in the transfer market this summer, making them the biggest spenders in Europe. Although Barcelona also spent a lot, they recouped around seventy to eighty million euros by selling players. Manchester United, despite several departures, only recouped €43 million. This means their net spending was a staggering €140 million! Van Gaal really knows how to burn through money. However, if his extravagant spending fails, he will likely be heavily criticized.

However, Lin checked online and found that Manchester United fans seemed to applaud Van Gaal's aggressive recruitment; there were some dissenters, but they were few. Most fans were pleased and excited about the club's ambitious signings!

"Haha, the club is really going all out this season, it seems they're ready to make a big splash!"

"Hehe, looking forward to taking revenge on Manchester City in the league!"

"Manchester City's squad hasn't changed much, and they still have Lin. Can we really beat them this season?"

Some fans were unsure, as City, despite being new money, were last season's Champions League winners and not to be underestimated. Last season, Manchester United suffered a double defeat to City, with heavy losses. Lin's hat-trick at Old Trafford, celebrated in Cantona's style of surveying the field, still painfully haunted United fans and had become a nightmarish memory.

"Don't worry, this season we have Van Persie, Rooney, Falcao, Mata, and Di Maria – a bunch of top stars. With this lineup, how could we possibly lose?"

"Right, this lineup basically guarantees the Premier League title this season, and at least a semifinal spot in the Champions League!"

"Exactly, money is such a good thing. If a nouveau riche like City can achieve results by splurging, we, with our rich heritage, have invested so much this season, next season we'll surely beat the crap out of City!"

United's fans were very confident about the team's prospects this season and were eagerly looking forward to it starting. Seeing the high expectations of United fans, Lin couldn't help but want to laugh. Van Gaal was good at spending money, but leading a team to success was another matter...

Outside of Manchester United, Chelsea also spent heavily, and they were one of the first to act. On May 24th, just after the Premier League ended and before the World Cup started, Chelsea quickly reached a transfer agreement with French powerhouse PSG. Chelsea sold their main central defender, David Luiz, to PSG for £50 million, setting a new world record price for a defender. Interestingly, both Thiago Silva and David Luiz were Brazil's main defenders at the World Cup. PSG likely thought buying another Brazilian main defender like Luiz would be beneficial, especially since the two played together on the national team and would easily fit into the team. Despite the high cost, PSG thought it was worth it.

But when Brazil was defeated 7-1 by Germany at the World Cup, PSG wasn't laughing anymore. Chelsea fans, on the other hand, were overjoyed, feeling like they had rid themselves of a liability: "Thanks to the Middle Eastern tycoons for helping us clear a mine!" "£50 million for a defensive bomb, what a profit!" "No wonder our performance was so poor last season, it turns out we had a time bomb in our defense!"

Not all Chelsea fans shared this sentiment, and some defended David Luiz: "David Luiz is actually quite strong, but his positional sense is poor, often making mistakes when he pushes forward." "That's right, he likes to increase his defensive area by moving forward, and once that fails, it becomes very noticeable, making him seem like a defensive liability." "This type of defender isn't suited to command the back line, but he's perfect as a charge-ahead general under someone else's command."

These fans really understood football. In fact, many experts believed that Thiago Silva's suspension had a greater impact on Brazil than Neymar's, with Marcelo and David Luiz both prone to leaving their positions, and Germany's early lead exacerbating Brazil's rash play. This doesn't mean the teams' strengths were vastly different.

Of course, claiming David Luiz is worth £50 million is quite a stretch. So, in this deal, Chelsea clearly made a huge profit. If this transfer had occurred after the World Cup, the price would have likely been only £30 million.

After selling David Luiz, Chelsea had enough funds to buy the striker they desired. Diego Costa, a forward from Spain, the World Cup champions, was sought after by many top clubs. Last season, plagued by a lack of striking power, Chelsea had long been interested in Costa, who had performed well in both the Champions League and the World Cup.

Before the World Cup ended, they offered Atlético Madrid £35 million for Costa. Chelsea's timing was cunning, coinciding with Costa's injury during the World Cup group stages. His consecutive absences due to injury in both the Champions League final and the World Cup led to doubts about his resilience, significantly impacting his transfer value. Atlético shared these concerns, so they entered into negotiations with Chelsea. However, as Spain won the championship, Costa recovered from his injury in time for the final. Although he didn't score, his performance wasn't poor—it was just overshadowed by Lin. Seeing that Costa's injury was not a concern, Atlético was more confident in their negotiations and refused to lower the price.

Chelsea's cheeky offer of less than £50 million, considering they had just earned £50 million from David Luiz's sale, was embarrassing. This obviously made it difficult for Chelsea, who aren't as extravagant as Middle Eastern tycoons. Even if they were, they couldn't afford to be taken advantage of. £50 million for Diego Costa, was it worth it? If Costa remained injury-free and perfectly fit into Chelsea's system, then the price might not seem too outrageous. However, if they really spent so much on one player, they might run short on funds for other necessary signings.

Last season's loss to Manchester City left Chelsea eager to aggressively recruit and arm themselves to the teeth for revenge. In addition to a forward, they were interested in other positions, such as Atlético's left-back Filipe and Barcelona's midfielder Fàbregas. Buying these stars without £50 million would likely be difficult, so Chelsea continued to negotiate with Atlético.

After tough negotiations, Chelsea agreed to send Torres back to Atlético, packaging Filipe and Costa for £50 million. For Chelsea, trading an aging Spanish forward for a younger, peak-form Spanish forward, plus a highly promising left-back and clearing some salary space, was undoubtedly a good deal. For Atlético, after letting go of Costa, they needed a high-level forward, and Torres, a product of Atlético's youth system and Spanish, was a great choice to bring back. Importantly, Torres's transfer fee was only €5 million—practically a giveaway.

For Torres, struggling at Chelsea was frustrating. Instead of continuing to be marginalized there, a change of scenery to rediscover his form seemed better. And returning to his boyhood club after seven years was like coming home for Torres.

After this transfer, Chelsea went all out to bring in Fàbregas from Barcelona, completing their final puzzle piece. Barcelona wasn't eager to let Fàbregas go, but needing funds to compete with Real Madrid for Suárez and James Rodríguez, they were compelled to sell. After negotiations, the two clubs agreed on a €33 million deal.

This summer, Chelsea spent €110 million on transfers. However, after selling David Luiz and Lukaku, they recouped €100 million. In total, they spent less than €10 million, barely achieving a balanced budget. Really, Chelsea, lacking a top-quality forward, shouldn't have sold Lukaku, who was performing well at Everton. But tensions between Abramovich and Mourinho, and the lack of significant funds for transfers, forced Mourinho to raise funds through sales. While Lukaku was valuable, selling him brought in a €40 million budget, and Chelsea feared his value might decrease later. However, this decision laid the groundwork for Lukaku's future returns to Chelsea...

Manchester United and Chelsea were big spenders, and Liverpool wasn't about to fall behind. After selling Suárez, they had plenty of funds and brought in Emre Can, Lallana, Markovic, Lovren, Origi, Moreno, and Balotelli in one go. While none of these players were particularly expensive—the most costly being local midfielder Adam Lallana at €31 million—the costs added

These acquisitions totaled €150 million, breaking Liverpool's single-season transfer spending record. Despite signing many players, none, except perhaps Balotelli, were star players. And Balotelli was a notorious troublemaker. Thus, despite spending the most in their 131-year history, Liverpool fans remained worried. It seemed their expensive recruits wouldn't match Suárez's impact. However, Suárez's frequent suspensions, totaling 19 matches, were a major concern.

Among the traditional top four, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool each spent over €100 million, and Arsenal wasn't idle. After spending £45 million on Özil last summer, Wenger was willing to spend more this year. Arsenal spent €42.5 million on Sánchez from Barcelona and €20 million on forward Welbeck from Manchester United. Wenger also spent €35 million on two defenders and €4 million on a backup goalkeeper. In total, Arsenal spent €100 million this season, with a net expenditure of €80 million after sales, which was significant for them.

Even Wenger, usually known for his frugality, was forced to spend heavily due to the intense competition in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Manchester City, the initiator of this arms race, had a relatively quiet summer. They spent €15 million on Levante's World Cup standout goalkeeper Navas, €15 million on Porto midfielder Francisco, and €30 million on defender Mangala. Their total transfer spending was only €60 million, much less than the other top four.

Moreover, City sold several players, including Javi García, Negredo, and Rodwell, recouping €65 million. Thus, their net spending was negative! Where was the promised financial splurge? This minimal spending led to doubts from the outside world—was Manchester City planning to throw the season?

(End of Chapter)