Manchester City are constantly accused of spending their way to victory, but one supporter has shown that that isn't strictly the case.
Pep Guardiola's City side are three wins away from completing the most successful season in the club's proud 129-year history.
City will clinch a fifth Premier League title in six years if they beat Chelsea on Sunday, and will have the chance to add the FA Cup to their trophy cabinet when they take on Manchester United in the final at Wembley.
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Their last match of the season will be the Champions League final against Internazionale, where they'll have the chance to win the competition for the first time and seal the treble.
Nobody can deny City's brilliance this season - bar a sticky patch in January, Guardiola's side have played some incredible football, as evidenced by the 4-0 demolition of Real Madrid on Wednesday.
However, opposition fans and large sections of the media always place an asterisk against City's achievements due to the money they have spent on transfers and wages in recent years.
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Another issue is the 100+ charges relating to financial breaches levelled against the club by the Premier League.
Even if City are found not-guilty by an independent panel, rivals will always say that they could not compete with City's spending.
One City fan has shown that that just isn't true though.
Twitter user @BlueCityBrain has produced a graph measuring team's yearly squad costs in 2022.
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The formula he used was to add wage spend to transfer amortisation (the transfer fee of a player divided by the length of the contract.)
"The reality is that City aren't even in the top 4 biggest spenders across Europe in the last accounting period," @BlueCityBrain's Tweet reads.
"City were outspent by Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea and only slightly beat out Liverpool. City last season got knocked out [of the Champions League] by a team that spent more than them [Madrid]."
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When wages were added to transfer amortisation, City's squad spend in 2022 was £495m, Chelsea's was £501m, United's was £534m, Real Madrid's £544m and PSG's £742m.
"PSG is also a perfect example of a team that has spent more than the entire competition by almost £200m and didn't even make the semi-finals in the champions league."
Instead of criticising City, the fan said the club should be praised.
"The only credit should be going to this group of players which includes a young generational striker that is imposing himself on world football, and a manager who potentially may be the best manager of all time."
Featured Image Credit: PA/AlamyTopics: Champions League, FA Cup, Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Premier League, Fan Reactions
