The ASTRONOMICAL cost of winning the treble for Pep Guardiola

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 7 Jun 2023 12:54 BST
• 4 min read

One more win and Manchester City will win the treble. They will be the first English side to do so since Manchester United in 1999.

They have the Champions League final to look forward to with Inter. A win would mark the first European Cup for the Citizens. But at what cost?

Pep Guardiola has been with the club since 2016 - and he is still without that elusive trophy. Should he finally get his hands on it, how much money would he have spent to get there?

How much money has Pep Guardiola spent at Man City?

Since becoming City's manager in 2016, Guardiola has spent £1.03 billion on transfers in total.

With outgoing players taken into consideration, he has spent a net total of £478m.

This is the breakdown of how much he has spent on transfers each season at Man City.

2016/17: £185m

2017/18: £272.03m

2018/19: £67m

2019/20: £142m

2020/21: £148m

2021/22: £118m

2022/23: £1340m

What are Pep Guardiola’s biggest transfers at Man City?

Guardiola’s most expensive transfer by some margin is Jack Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa for £100m in 2021. After a mixed first campaign, he was one of City’s best players in 2022-23.

Below the England international is Ruben Dias. The Portuguese centre-back was bought from Benfica for £61m. He has been one of the best Premier League signings in recent years, being crucial in the side’s trophy-laden campaigns.

Rodri was marginally less than Dias - the midfielder was snapped up from Atletico Madrid for £60m. He has been another phenomenal purchase from Guardiola.

How many trophies has Pep Guardiola won at Man City?

After a trophyless first season with City, Guardiola has become one of the all-time best Premier League managers.

He has won 11 major trophies - with five Premier League titles, the FA Cup twice, and the League Cup four times.

As for the Champions League with City, he has earned one runner-up finish, but that could all change against Inter.

How much did Man Utd 1999 treble winners cost?

There are obviously a lot of facets to consider to compare squad valuations over time. We have decided the best way would be to round up the entire cost of the 1999 Man Utd squad in terms of how much the club spent, removing the players who played less than 10 games in all competitions, and then adjusting the total sum for inflation to today. For City we have done the same, without adjusting for inflation.

Man Utd 1998/98

Peter Schmeichel - £500k

Gary Neville - free

Denis Irwin - £625k

Ronny Johnsen - £1.2m

Jaap Stam- £10.6m

David Beckham - free

Nicky Buttt - free

Andy Cole - £7m

Teddy Sheringham - £3.5m

Ryan Giggs - free

Phil Neville - free

Jesper Blomqvist - £4.4m

Roy Keane £3.75 m

Paul Scholes - free

Dwight Yorke - £12.6 m

Ole Gunnar Solskaer - £1.5m

Henning Berg - £5m

Wes Brown - free

Total: £50.7m

Adjusted for inflation: £89.8m

Man City 2022/23

Ederson - £35m

Erling Haaland - £51m

Ruben Dias - £61m

Nathan Ake - £41m

John Stones - £47.5m

Aymeric Laporte £57m

Jack Grealish - £100m

Cole Palmer - free

Bernado Silva - £43.5 m

Manuel Akanji - £15m

Kyle Walker - £45m

Julian Alvarez - £14m

Rodri - £62m

Ilkay Gundogan - £20m

Kevin De Bruyne - £55m

Phil Foden - free

Riyad Mahrez - £60m

Kevin De Bruyne - £55m

Rico Lewis - free

Total: £762m

So in total, Man Utd's 1999 treble winners - even with inflation adjusted (£89.8m) - spent a fraction of the amount Man City's potential treble winners did (£762m).