Man City Director Defends Club's Mammoth Spending & Sets Sights on European Dominance
Manchester City's director of football Txiki Begiristain has insisted that the club's rapid spending over the last decade has laid the foundations for a successful and maintainable future, one which includes making the club a dominant force in Europe.
City's emergence at the top of the table and regular appearances in Europe have largely come about through an Abu Dhabi ownership who have parted with roughly £1.4bn on players during their 10-year reign.
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However, Begiristain has pointed out that the money has been spent wisely with a long term vision in mind to establish the club as a European powerhouse - a plan which is still in very much in motion.
"It is true that we have spent a lot of money - that is because we want to move fast. We want to win this race. We need to do it fast. We need to spend the money," Begiristain told the BBC.
"The other clubs got there because they have been spending money for 50-60 years. They have been signing the best players in the world, spending a lot of money that Manchester City could not spend.
"There are people who work and they do well and they spend all the money, and for nothing. They enjoy life for three or four years.
"Then you give money to people who want to do well. Of course, they have to run and do it quick - but they spend the money and it stays there. Then you see the project, the philosophy, the way to work, a way to play. Once we get success doing it this way, we know that it is going to stay here forever."
When asked if a trip to the Etihad has the power to intimidate the European elite, he added: "Not yet. We need to face those kinds of games. Getting to the semi-finals of the Champions League is the main target. Having the experience of playing in semi-finals helps you get to the finals.
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"We have to become a winning club. It doesn't mean we have to win the Premier League for the next 10 years. It means we have to fight for the title - really fight, be there.
"I know we cannot win all the time but that is the target. Everyone coming to this club has to know that we are here to win. If you do that, you know you are going to fight for the Champions League. We are getting there. It is closer than we think. What happened last season helps now to become one of the favourites for everything. This is the pressure.
"It is not only about the players you have. It is also what the club means for the opponent. If you go to [Real Madrid's stadium] the Bernabeu, you are playing against 11 players but you are also playing against the stadium, the history, everything.
"That history, that stadium, those players, affects everything - the opponent, the referee. The only way to become one of them is to always be a winning club."
City's objective to lift the Champions League trophy will first see them face off against Hoffenheim, Lyon and Shakhtar Donetsk in the group stage, all the while defending their Premier League title.
