How Man City spent €218m in January despite 115 charges

Tom Weber

• Updated: 4 Feb 2025 11:27 GMT
• 4 min read

Manchester City were the world's biggest spenders in the 2025 January transfer window.

Pep Guardiola's men plummeted down the Premier League table after a dire run of form in November and December and the Spaniard was determined to rectify this with an uncharacteristic January window.

In previous years, Man City had refrained from splashing the cash in the winter, but reinforcements were seen as a necessity in 2025. Guardiola brought in five fresh faces in January to the tune of €218 million, the club's biggest single-window outlay since the summer of 2017 (€248.5m).

READ MORE: Premier League January transfers 2025 - All the Done Deals

Young defenders Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Juma Bah joined from RC Lens, Palmeiras and Real Valladolid, respectively, for a combined €83m. Bundesliga sensation Omar Marmoush arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt for a whopping €75m.

On Deadline Day, Man City finally managed to replace 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who is missing the season through an ACL injury. Porto midfielder Nico Gonzalez, formerly of Barcelona, linked up with Guardiola for €60m.

How were Man City able to spend so much?

Man City alone shelled out more on new signings than the entirety of LaLiga combined, but of course, this lavish spending happened against a backdrop of 115 charges of financial misconduct.

Moreover, the Premier League's stringent Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) prevented many other clubs from spending big in January, so it begs the question: how did Man City do it?

For one, Man City believe that they are fine from a PSR perspective. Clubs are allowed to lose around €125m-€126m (£105m) over three years and the reigning Premier League champions are one of football's most commercially successful enterprises.

As per the Deloitte Money League, Man City made €837.8m of annual revenue over the 2023/24 season. In the summer of 2024, they sold five players for a whopping €137m and also secured a €4m loan fee for Yan Couto, who joined Borussia Dortmund.

READ MORE: Deadline Day - Every confirmed transfer around Europe

Moreover, most transfer fees are amortised over a period of up to five years. This means that, for example, in the case of the €40m spent on Khusanov, only an outlay of €8m will be on City's balance sheet at the end of each financial year.

But what about the 115 charges? They are 'ancient history' in the words of football finance expert Kieran Maguire, as they pertain to the period between 2009-2018 and not the present.

"From a financial perspective, City are in a really strong position," Maguire told the BBC. "Under these profitability and sustainability rules, you are allowed to lose £105m over a rolling three-year period.

"Manchester City have probably made somewhere in the region of £160m-170m worth of profit because there has been an awful lot of players leaving the club - as well as the benefits of qualifying for Europe every year, the bonuses from sponsors and broadcasters for winning all of these trophies."

"The 115 charges relates to the period 2009-2018, so that, to a certain extent, is ancient history. When it does come to pass that we get a judgement, we will have to have a complete reset I think in what they can spend going forwards."