Manchester City have had remarkable success in the past five years. Since the start of the 2021/22 season, Man City have won eight trophies, including three Premier League titles and a Champions League.
The Citizens have spent a lot of money to achieve that success, of course, but it turns out six Premier League clubs have actually spent more in that time frame. Pep Guardiola is well aware of that fact, too.
Speaking in a press conference this week about City's net spend in the past five seasons, Guardiola joked, per the BBC:
"I am a little bit sad and upset because in net spend the last five years we are seventh in the Premier League. I want to be the first, I don't understand why the club don't spend more money. I am a little bit grumpy with them.
"But like we won in the past because we spent a lot, now six teams have to win the Premier Leagues, Champions Leagues and FA Cups because they spend more in the last five years. These are facts. It's not an opinion.
"You can say an opinion, like you say you play good or bad against Spurs - we can agree or disagree. But they are facts. Good luck to the six teams who are in front of us for net spend for the last five years. Let's go. I'm waiting. That's a nice quote, eh?"
So, which Premier League clubs have spent more money than City in that timeframe? Every Premier League club's net spend since 2021 has now been revealed by Football365.
The Premier League Clubs That Have Spent Less Money Than Man City Since 2021
Ollie Watkins Aston Villa
13 clubs in England's top tier have a lower net spend than Man City in the last five years. Only one club has a positive net spend in that time frame: Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Seagulls have gained a reputation in the past few years for buying obscure young players for cheap and then selling them for huge money. The best example of that is Moises Caicedo. They signed the Ecuadorian for £4 million and sold him to Chelsea for £115 million a few years later.
Wolves and Everton are also close to having a positive net spend since the 2021/22 campaign. The former will wish they spent more this term as they head towards relegation to the Championship.
Only four clubs have a lower net spend than Aston Villa (-98.67m) in the past five years. The fact that the Villans have had so much success in the past few years despite not spending as much as their rivals is testament to what an incredible job Unai Emery has done.
Among the other clubs that have a lower net spend than City over the past five years include Sunderland (-£140.04m), Crystal Palace (-£201.47m), West Ham United (-£317.1m) and Nottingham Forest (-£328.86m).
Premier League Clubs Ranked by Net Spend Since 2021/22 (20-8)
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The Six Premier League Clubs That Have Spent More Money Than Man City Since 2021
alexander isak
City's net spend in the past few years has been -£397.78m. That number increased greatly in the winter transfer window just gone as they signed Antoine Semenyo for £62.5m and Marc Guehi for £20m.
That's lower than Liverpool's total of -£423.75m. They have also spent a lot of money this season as they smashed their transfer record twice: first for Florian Wirtz and then for Alexander Isak.
Newcastle United (-£430.61m), Tottenham Hotspur (-£578.86m) and Chelsea (-£662.04m) have also spent more money than City in the past few years.
No club in world football had a higher net spend than Arsenal in the 2025/26 season and it appears to be money well spent as they lead the Premier League. But Manchester United's net spend since the 2021/22 season is just greater than Arsenal's. It goes without saying that United have not spent their money wisely, with the Red Devils having very little to show for it.
Premier League Clubs Ranked by Net Spend Since 2021/22 (7-1)
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