‘Man City make their own rules up’: 4-year transfer embargo mooted
Man City have been accused of making “their own rules up” by Tim Sherwood on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday.
The Sky Blues have had the spectre of 115 charges from the Premier League hanging over them since Ferbruay 2023, and Paul Merson believes recent moves suggest a transfer ban is on the horizon.
Despite the charges, that has not stopped City from spending big this January transfer window on Omar Marmoush from Frankfurt, Vitor Reis from Palmeiras and Abdukodir Khusanov from RC Lens.
The Citizens also signed Erling Haaland to remarkable nine-and-a-half year contract that made him the highest paid player in Europe.
Speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday (12.15pm) Merson and Sherwood spoke about City’s future, Sherwood said: “They seem to be the only team who can spend money and they’ve got 115 [charges] over their head, I just find it incre…”.
Merson “Do you think, Tim, they know they’re gonna get a transfer embargo?”
Sherwood – “Perhaps yeah, they must know something.”
Merson – “If you give Haaland a nine-year contract you’re thinking this could be a two, three, four-year transfer embargo, I dunno.”
Sherwood “Yeah possibly. These players they’ve brought in are certainly for now and the future. They’re trying to build for the future, they made a mistake by not buying in the summer. I think they’ve realised that, it’s obviously brilliant in hindsight, we’ve all got a degree in that.
“They made a rick, obviously, they should have strengthened, they never managed to do it and they’ve come unstuck. But now they’ve gone into the market, players are available, Pep Guardiola is a huge pull, especially for attacking players.
“Any player who plays in the forward end of the pitch wants to play for Pep Guardiola, and that’s certainly an exceptional pull for any player, so I don’t think they’ve finished [spending] no.
“If there’s players available they will go and get them, even if they have to pay over the top, they don’t care. Man City make their own rules up.”
Man City collapse could spell the end for Guardiola
Football Insider Verdict
Since joining Man City from Bayern Munich in 2016, Guardiola has received an unprecedented level of support from owner Sheikh Mansour.
The Spaniard has been given licence to mould the club in his own image, bringing Txiki Begiristain, Domenec Torrent, Carles Planchart and a number of his former staff members with him from his time at Barcelona.
Whilst it is not uncommon for a manager to bring their own coaches with them to a new job, Begiristain’s hiring as director of football at the Manchester club showed the level of control Guardiola was being given.
The results have been astounding, City have won everything there is to win under the former Barcelona manager, including the Champions League, which had eluded them for so long.
Now, we are beginning to witness what could be the downfall of a dynasty.
City have had a woeful start to the season, and despite winning their last league game against Ipswich 6-0 (19 January), they followed that up with a 4-2 loss to PSG (22 January), despite being up 2-0 in that game.
City will have to beat Club Brugge to guarantee their qualification to the knockouts of the Champions League, as the club currently sit 25th in the new league format.
Despite giving Guardiola the ability to run the club how he wants to, it would be surprising if the Sky Blues’ decision makers like Khaldoon Al-Mubarak continue the arrangement if results do not pick up soon.
In other news, City are fuming at Kyle Walker for “jumping ship”.
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