Pep Guardiola spent big in the summer transfer window as he aims to close the gap on his Premier League rivals.
Liverpool secured a second top-flight title during his time at Manchester City, at the end of 2024/25, and despite already boasting six EPL crowns, the fire to fight back burns bright for Guardiola.
As part of his plan to haul City back into title contention, the Catalan coach made some bold choices on veteran stars, as he looks to move in a fresh direction.
Multiple title winners - and former club captain trio - Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker and Ilkay Gundogan all moved on as part of a new era at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola spent an estimated £181m on new players including major moves for Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and a late swoop on PSG for Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Following Luis Enrique's shock call to bring in Lucas Chevalier to replace the Italian No.1, Guardiola wasted little time in tabling an offer, despite already bringing James Trafford back to the club.
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Donnarumma brings a wealth of experience at the highest level, on the back of starring in PSG's first-ever UEFA Champions League win last season, and he solves a key issue for Guardiola.
Rivals Liverpool were the summer's biggest spenders, as Arne Slot spent a whopping £415m, balanced against £187m in sales.
UEFA
The defending champions twice broke the Premier League transfer record, to land Florian Wirtz [£100m] and Alexander Isak [£125m], but former City star Owen Hargreaves believes the move for Donnarumma could prove more significant.
"Donnarumma is a huge plus to them. He could end up being the biggest transfer out of anybody I think," Hargreaves told Premier League Productions’ Team Talks.
"He gives them stability in those big moments, he can make saves."
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