Guardiola says large transfer fees are here to stay

Record ID: 904235

  • Title: Guardiola says large transfer fees are here to stay
  • Date: 26th July 2017
  • Summary: CARSON, CALIFORNIA, USA (JULY 25, 2017) (REUTERS) MANCHESTER CITY TRAINING MANCHESTER CITY COACH PEP GUARDIOLA WATCHING TRAINING SESSION MIDFIELDER ILKAY GUNDOGAN TRAINING FANS WATCHING MIDFIELDER FERNANDINHO PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PEP GUARDIOLA, MANCHESTER CITY COACH, SAYING: "No, no change too much. The approach in the season is quite similar to the last one. I know we have on our shoulders we have to demand of ourselves the best possible to compete as best as possible. We did a very very good thing last season, of course we are judged in terms of course if we won titles or don’t, so in that terms it was not good, but we did a very very good thing. "We changed players, we got our age in the team the squad was so old, we had 10, 11 players more than 30 years old so we tried to change a little bit last season, a little bit more that season, because we change not just for the short period one season or two, for four, five next six years. "Of course we are going to try to do our best, the pressure is the same like last season, and we are going to make a good performance and win the games and try until the end of the season to fight for the titles." (SOUNDBITE) (English) FERNANDINHO, MANCHESTER CITY MIDFIELDER, SAYING: "All of them have good quality to play you know, especially in the Premier League. In the case of Danilo, (Benjamin) Mendy, Ederson, they are strong, we all know the Premier League is so demanding physically and any three days you have to be ready to play at a high level. And of course they make the difference for us, help us to achieve our targets, in Premier League, in Europe as well, Champions League, and I hope we can help them too you know, to be ready as soon as possible to do their best for the club." VARIOUS OF PLAYERS TRAINING GOALKEEPER EDERSON (SOUNDBITE) (English) PEP GUARDIOLA, MANCHESTER CITY COACH, SAYING: "I think that 10, 11 years ago (Real) Madrid paid for example paid 30 million for Pepe and Barcelona 37 for Dani Alves, 10 years later that is the value now. That period was amazing and now in the last year, two years, it increased a lot. I could not imagine years ago, no years ago, two years ago, that people pay 100 million for one player, 120 million for one player. Now it's happened and it's going to happen more, so it's a lot, so it's nothing to do, so." PRACTICE MATCH INCLUDING NEW SIGNING BENJAMIN MENDY GUARDIOLA TALKING TO PLAYER MENDY SHOOTS OVER THE CROSSBAR VARIOUS OF MENDY SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS
  • Embargoed: 9th August 2017 08:30
  • Keywords: Soccer Manchester City Real Madrid Carson California Guardiola
  • Location: CARSON, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: CARSON, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Soccer,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016RCSTHB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday (July 25) that large transfer fees are here to stay as he spoke about the money the club has had to pay for their new signings.
    City have spent around 120 million pounds ($156.35 million) on buying three new full backs in 10 days -- with a fourth possibly on the way.
    Benjamin Mendy became the latest to arrive on Monday for a reported 49 million pounds, joining Danilo, signed from Real Madrid for 26 million pounds on Sunday, and Kyle Walker, a 45 million pound buy from Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month.
    For Monaco, French international Mendy completed five assists in Ligue 1 and three in the Champions League last season, figures that suggest more goals should now flow from Guardiola's problem left side.
    Perhaps only City would pay such a fee -- four times the amount Monaco paid Marseille for the 23-year-old just 12 months ago -- but Mendy's pace, technique and intelligence were major factors in the French side's success last season.
    Guardiola, who witnessed Mendy's worth close up in Monaco's Champions League knockout win over City last season, has persuaded his paymasters to fork out serious money for a player who could make his debut against Real Madrid in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
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