Pep Guardiola and the dark cloud of the "chequebook manager"

If there’s one manager that comes to mind when the phrase “pursuit of excellence” comes up, it’s Pep Guardiola. Guardiola is arguably one of the best managers in the world right now. The Catalan has enjoyed considerable success in his spells across Europe with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City. Lately, however, the Man City boss has cut a troubled figure, courtesy of their form in the Premier League.

“Man City might not be able to compete with top teams,” Pep Guardiola was quoted as saying after City’s loss in the Manchester derby. This led to a number of fans claiming that one of the finest managers in world football had thrown in the towel halfway into the season. Guardiola’s comments on not being able to compete with the top teams in the league are particularly interesting, considering that no manager in the Premier League has had a higher net spend since Guardiola’s arrival in England. The Spaniard has a net spend of £527.79 million since taking over the blue half of Manchester. In that same period, Liverpool have had a net spend of just £75.3 million.

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If one were to compare the hand dealt to both managers upon their arrival in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola would arguably come out on top. The Spaniard took over a side that had already won the Premier League two years prior to his arrival. Jurgen Klopp, on the other hand, took over a Liverpool side that last won the league over two decades ago. While Pep Guardiola had the likes of Vincent Kompany, Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Yaya Toure at his disposal, Klopp had only the Brazilian duo of Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino to count on. While the German came to England a year before Pep Guardiola, the large gulf (pardon the pun) in spending so far is still unaccounted for.

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Pep Guardiola has undeniably been a success in the Premier League. The Spaniard guided Manchester City to consecutive titles while amassing a total of 198 points across the two Premier League campaigns. Yet, a few managers have been awarded the luxury of signing another first-choice goalkeeper merely a year after luring Barcelona’s first-choice goalkeeper to the Etihad.

Guardiola has also been able to replace the deadwood in the Manchester City squad with some big names. The likes of Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta and Samir Nasri ultimately made way for Aymeric Laporte, Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva. Jurgen Klopp has also made some expensive signings during his tenure at Anfield. However, the cost of bringing in the likes of Alisson and Virgil van Dijk was largely offset by the £142 million Liverpool received from the Philippe Coutinho transfer.

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Lack of Champions League success eating away City fans and owners

If there is one bone of contention City's owners will have with Guardiola, it will be the lack of Champions League success the club has tasted so far. Despite spending heavily and drawing comparatively weaker opponents throughout their Champions League campaigns, the highest spenders in the Premier League have failed to make any headway into the Champions League under Guardiola. At the Football Writers’ Association Awards Dinner last month, Pep Guardiola joked that he would gladly exchange a Premier League trophy for Jurgen Klopp’s Champions League trophy. It’s difficult to say if the Spaniard was only half-joking.

However, with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool sending a 'mind the gap' message to their Premier League rivals courtesy of their astounding lead at the top, the only piece of major silverware Guardiola will be able to get his hands on is the ever-elusive Champions League. With Liverpool out of the competition and a first-leg lead over Real Madrid, City will hope to conquer the one challenge that has eluded them since they became a part of the nouveau riche. Considering they stand a chance of being banned from the competition for the next two seasons, the Champions League could turn out to be Pep Guardiola and Man City's Holy Grail. 

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