Manchester City stepped into the lion’s den on October 11th when they travelled to a raucous Anfield to face Liverpool in the Premier League. The Blues were featuring in their first game since news of their run-in with the Premier League’s rule book broke, and they did so at the home of the one team that has suffered the most at City’s hands in recent times. But rather than suffering any kind of revenge, the visitors silenced those critics.
City Down Liverpool at a Raucous Anfield
Three sensational goals in 15 second-half minutes from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, and Rayan Cherki, in front of a jubilant City away end, sealed a famous 3-0 at Anfield, ensuring that City’s perfect start to the 2026/27 Premier League season continued. Not only that, but online betting sites continue to make the club the biggest threat to Arsenal’s title defence. Ozoon soccer betting odds currently position Enzo Maresca’s side as a 7/2 second-favourite behind the 1/2 defending champion frontrunners, somewhat surprising odds considering City are currently two points clear at the summit.
For the critics that continue to circle, the result was somewhat secondary to the situation the club currently finds itself in. Whether that’s sour grapes or not, however, remains to be seen.
So, seeing as it’s all anyone seems to be talking about: That famous City spending that has landed the club in hot water. How much did the Blues splash in the transfer market between 2009/10 and 2017/18, the period currently in question? And how does it stack up compared to the Premier League’s biggest names throughout the same time frame? Let’s take a look.
Manchester City — €1.44bn
According to the highly reputable Transfermarkt, Manchester City forked out a whopping €1.44bn on new signings between 2009/10 and 2017/18. The spending was the most in Europe by over €300m, and the players that the club signed were a who’s who of bona fide superstars.
Kevin De Bruyne was the most expensive addition. He arrived in January 2016 for a mighty fee of €76m (£54m), a club record at the time. Pundits such as Sky Sports legend Paul Merson were famously critical of the move, saying on one episode of Soccer Saturday: “I just don’t see £50million for this player.” How wrong he was.
KDB would go on to become one of the greatest Premier League midfielders of all time, amassing some 108 goals and 177 assists in his decade at the Etihad, winning six titles and the Champions League as well. But as one can imagine with such spending, the Belgian wasn’t the only blockbuster arrival.
Raheem Sterling arrived from Liverpool for €63.7m, John Stones from Everton for €55.6m, and Bernardo Silva from Monaco for €50m. But it wasn’t just the big names that City forked out huge sums on. Backup players such as Aymeric Laporte, Wilfried Bony, Eliaquim Mangala, and Danilo all arrived for at least €30m, with the Blues signing some 224 players throughout the eight-year period.
The one major talking point surrounding City’s transfer dealings, however, is that they recouped just €381.04m on player sales during the aforementioned timeframe. They are the only club in world football to have a net spend of over €1bn, and their approach yielded results: three Premier League titles, three League Cups, and an FA Cup are testament to that.
Chelsea — €1.12bn
But City weren’t the only ones spending big for those eight years. Chelsea also spent over €1bn as former owner Roman Abramovich looked to strengthen his side’s standing within European football.
The billionaire had already forked out a fortune on new additions prior to the Premier League’s current financial rules coming into effect. He opened the chequebook to the amount of over €600m in the six years immediately preceding City’s questioned period, the most in Europe, with the likes of Andriy Shevchenko, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, and many, many more arriving at the Bridge.
Throughout the 2009/10 to 2017/18 period in question, the West London outfit wasn’t shy in splashing the cash. The January 2011 €58.5m move for Liverpool’s Fernando Torres was a British record at the time, while Alvaro Morata, Tiemoué Bakayoko, Michy Batshuayi, Diego Costa, Danny Drinkwater, and N’Golo Kante all cost €35m or more. Unsurprisingly, they too enjoyed success, winning three Premier League titles, three FA Cups, the League Cup, two Europa League crowns, and the 2012 Champions League.
Manchester United — €1.01bn
Manchester United spent over €1bn too, the fourth most in Europe behind City, Chelsea, and Barcelona, and they were smashing transfer records along the way. Their blockbuster €105m signing of Paul Pogba smashed the British transfer record, while Romelu Lukaku, Angel Di Maria, and Anthony Martial all cost over €60m each.
The Difference Maker
But the biggest difference between their spending and that of City is that these two Premier League heavyweights at least managed to recoup some cash in the form of sales. Chelsea sold players to the value of €689m, taking their net spend to €-426m, with Diego Costa, Oscar, and David Luiz all yielding over €49.5m.
The Red Devils didn’t quite manage that number, with their sales totalling €385m. That took their net spend to €-621m, still some €300m better than that of their cross-city rivals.