Enzo Maresca is not bothered by Manchester City spending big in the transfer window to get the players that they wanted
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 05: Enzo Fernandez of Manchester City is substituted for Ayyoub Bouaddi of Manchester City during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Manchester City and Coventry City at Etihad Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
Manchester City have spent far more than Manchester United in the window
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Enzo Maresca believes Manchester City had to spend big in the 'crazy' transfer window to get the quality of players they wanted. The Blues broke multiple club records for buying and selling and splashed out £326million just on three midfielders as part of a monumental overhaul in their squad.
United also signed three midfielders but refused to pay what they deemed inflated prices for players including City's £116m man Elliot Anderson, and spent £155m in that position. On Sunday both teams will get an opportunity to directly compare contrasting approaches in the transfer market.
Having already made Anderson their record signing, City paid even more to bring in Maresca's No.1 target Enzo Fernandez after Rodri had followed Bernardo Silva out of the Etihad doors. The club also paid Lille £85m to bring Ayyoub Bouaddi to Manchester this summer, and all three have already impressed for their new club.
Maresca is not interested in talking about the price of his new faces and believes the club had to spend big in a 'crazy' transfer market where huge money was being spent by nearly everyone in order to land their top targets.
"I don’t pay much attention to the price because I don’t pay the money. It’s more about good players. The ones who arrived here and joined United are all top players," he said. "That’s the most important thing.
"How much the club paid for them? I don’t think it’s correct to judge players on how much we pay because the market is crazy. My point of view is that it’s a crazy market, because any club pays big money for any players. It’s the market and we need to adapt."
City's manager is looking for his midfield to be at their best on Sunday to shut down counter-attacks, having noted how strong United are in that department as they look to get in behind teams quick and directly. Having shown their character in Porto, the Blues boss wants his players to stick to their principles at Old Trafford.
"It’s an important game because it’s a test to be ourselves. It’s quite clear that they are very dangerous, they don’t need many passes. They are quite direct when they recover the ball," he said.
"They are the team in the Premier League at the moment who plays the most balls in behind. It’s clear that they recover the ball and contact in behind, so we need to be careful in terms of transitions to cover the space in behind."