Pep Guardiola fires dig at Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea over net spend

Manchester City need two more wins to wrap up a fourth consecutive Premier League title.

While we’ve had great Manchester United teams win it three times in a row, nobody has won four Premier League titles in succession.

Man City manager Pep Guardiola is keen for his players to make history and defy stereotypes he feels are being used to downplay their achievements.

“In the beginning of the season no, we didn’t think about the four Premier Leagues,” Guardiola admitted, as per the Manchester Evening News. “If we are in February, March, April, we are still there, that we can still do it, it ignites something in all our heads that says: ‘guys, no team has done it, that shows you how hard it is.”

After winning the treble last season, City wanted to go one better this term by winning the quadruple. That objective was dashed early on in the Carabao Cup, while their Champions League defence was ended by finalists Real Madrid last month.

That said, City are on the verge of winning another double under Guardiola.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach added: “Liverpool in the 80s, Sir Alex Ferguson’s United in the 90s, Chelsea with [Roman] Ambramovich and Jose [Mourinho] and Arsenal with [Arsene] Wenger didn’t do it so if it’s not been done, it’s difficult, it’s as simple as that.”

Guardiola also issued a dig at some of City’s rival, including United, by looking at clubs who haven’t won the Premier League during his time at the club but have a higher net spend.

He referenced the net spend over the last five seasons.

Guardiola continued: “Before do you know what it was? It was the money [that won titles]. For that reason why: Man United should have won all the titles. All of them. And the second, Chelsea all the titles. And the third Arsenal… all the titles. They spend as much money in the last five years as us. They should be there. They are not there.

“For that reason, Girona shouldn’t be in the Champions League, and Leicester shouldn’t win the Premier League years ago. Now it’s boring? It’s not boring. It’s so difficult to be here again and we want to win it.

“But to do something that in this country no team has done it, you have to do something special, exceptional, I would say. It has not happened in the Premier League ever and we have to do it this time. History is in front of us and we have to accept that we have not done it; it is the time to do it. Otherwise, Arsenal will be champions.”