Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are ruining football - and one signing makes it clear

Manchester City have defiled the beautiful game. Perhaps it's more apt to suggest City are playing a much uglier game .

This is not to say that the City squad is nothing other than supremely talented. Erling Haaland , Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Phil Foden, Ederson, Ruben Dias… the squad list reflects some of the best in the world. But this should come as no surprise.

Plenty of stories have been written expressing frustration over City’s seemingly unlimited resources . Since 2008, Man City has spent around $2.8 billion on transfers; in Pep Guardiola ’s eight years at the helm, City has preposterously spent over half a billion dollars on defenders alone. To compare, Liverpool has spent $816 million on all positions since Guardiola took charge.

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When looking at the numbers, Liverpool truly had no right to compete for titles and in the Champions League under Jurgen Klopp for so long. City’s excessive spending and accumulation of coveted resources has led to unbridled success; City has won the Premier League in six of the last seven years, including each of the last four seasons along with a historic treble-winning campaign in 2022-23 as Guardiola finally led the club to European glory.

Beneath the surface, though, is a much darker and concerning picture. The City Football Group is the most prominent example of a multi-club model in the world. Founded in 2013, the CFG now has 11 members - including Manchester City, Girona, and Troyes - across four continents, as well as a handful of other "partner clubs" in which the group does not hold direct stakes.

Two years ago, Savinho was a $13.6 million record signing for Ligue 1 club Troyes. Instead of helping the French club on their mission to climb the standings, the Brazilian immediately joined PSV Eindhoven on loan. In his absence – while City won the treble – Troyes were relegated in 2022-23.

Savinho then joined Girona on loan for 2023-24, contributing 19 goals and assists to remarkably get the Spanish side into the Champions League. Girona’s performance was hailed as a Cinderella story, but given their financial might and backing, it was as if Star Wars Episode V was considered a fairy tale.

Meanwhile, Troyes suffered another relegation (although they were spared as 12th-placed Bordeaux suffered ‘administrative relegation’ due to the club’s financial plight). In back-to-back seasons, the French club languished and nearly dropped down another division despite having a supreme talent on their books who didn’t make a single appearance or contribution. It’s an odd situation, and it became a potentially dangerous one when Savinho signed for the CFG mothership this summer for $43.5 million.

All in all, City were able to sign Savinho from a sister club he had never played for, having been on loan at another sister club. Talk about family ties. The move was questioned at the time, but it’s genuinely problematic and sets a disconcerting precedent moving forward.

Savinho is not the first time a player has moved between CFG clubs without playing for the side he joins. Aaron Mooy signed for Manchester City from Melbourne City in 2016, but was immediately loaned out and sold the following year. Mix Diskerud was also at City for three years after joining from New York City.

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But the winger is certainly the most high-profile and valued asset to make such a move. It’s almost like the CFG were testing the waters and limits of what they can pull off before pulling the trigger with Savinho.

Given their backing and operations, City’s success is no surprise. Whether their success is predicated on legal means or not - which certainly affected Klopp’s tenure at Anfield - City are favorites everywhere they go because the club can afford the world’s best coach to lead the world’s best players.

However, all the success ultimately leaves a consistent sour taste in one's mouth. Each soulless trophy win is without real jeopardy, and without jeopardy, football is nothing. Some of City’s jeopardy just happens to fall on the shoulders of Troyes, a club whose fans desperately protest to be freed from the grip of the CFG. If recent history has proved anything, it’s a grip that will only tighten.