Guardiola: 'Real Madrid can't have more money than Man City'

The Spanish coach asserted that he would compete with any club for the best players in the world.

"When it comes to money, Real can't beat us," Pep Guardiola said confidently. "Players are very important to the team, so Man City will try to buy the best ones."

"The Abu Dhabi people came and invested in the team. Over the past five years, we have progressed to the ranks of top clubs. But to reach the level of Real or Barca, we need more time," the Spanish coach added.

Guardiola believes that if it comes down to a financial race to buy the necessary players, his Manchester City team will not be outdone by any rival. Photo: AFP.

Real Madrid are reportedly close to reaching an initial agreement with Monaco for the transfer of Kylian Mbappe. The reigning Champions League champions are willing to pay $209 million for the 18-year-old French striker. However, Sportsmail reports from England that Manchester City are ready to disrupt the deal, determined to snatch him from Real Madrid's grasp even if it means paying a higher price.

Besides financial resources, if Manchester City have to compete with Real Madrid for Mbappe, they can also be confident thanks to their good business relationship with Monaco. Just since the beginning, they have bought two players from the French champions, Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy, for a transfer fee of up to $124 million.

"Mbappe is still a Monaco player at the moment. We still intend to buy players and anything can happen. The transfer window doesn't close until August 31st, so let's wait and see," Guardiola replied when asked if he needed Mbappe.

For Guardiola, regarding the Mbappe deal, as long as there is no official announcement or the transfer window closes, Man City still has a chance to acquire the young star from Monaco. Photo: BPI.

Man City have spent $170 million on three full-backs – Kyle Walker, Danilo, and Mendy – in just over 10 days. These three signings have drawn criticism for Guardiola, but he explained that for the past six or seven years, the club hadn't invested in any full-backs, leaving their wingers well past their 30s. Therefore, Guardiola wanted to revamp the full-back positions for the season.

Man City is the team that has spent the most money on transfers this summer with $261 million.

According to VNE