Liverpool have lost out to Manchester City in the transfer market on numerous occasions, with the Reds seeing targets such as Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo move to the Etihad as recently as last January. However, after City were found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial regulations, their superior spending power has come under new scrutiny.
City were found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought against them, including all charges related to serious breaches of the top-flight's financial rules over a nine-season period between 2009 and 2018, and the majority of charges relating to the club's failure to co-operate with the League's investigation.
Sham contracts and inflated revenue
The Premier League released a statement detailing the investigation's findings, revealing that City had arranged 'sham' contracts with a number of commercial partners and sponsors to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs. These were part of a disguised funding scheme, whereby companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees, with the remainder funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
As a result, City were able to artificially inflate their revenue by more than £900m during the affected period, including a disguised £830.69m investment from the club's owners through 'sham' contracts and agreements over the nine-year period. City maintain their innocence and have lodged an appeal, but such finances inevitably helped the club in recruitment and bolstering their squad.
Players who chose City over Liverpool
Here are some of the players City managed to sign despite varying degrees of rival interest from Liverpool between 2009 and 2018:
- Gareth Barry – Liverpool made a well-publicised move to sign Barry from Aston Villa in summer 2008, only to be left disappointed as the Villans stuck by their £18m asking price. A year later, the England international opted to sign for City for £12m.
- Carlos Tevez – Liverpool reportedly fell behind City in the race to sign Tevez in summer 2009 after it became clear they could not compete with the riches on offer. City paid £25.5m to the player's advisors, who owned his economic rights.
- David Silva – Liverpool pulled out of the race in 2009 after baulking at Valencia's £30m asking price. A year later, City signed the Spain international in a deal worth up to £30m.
- Gael Clichy – Liverpool made a £5m offer for Clichy in summer 2011, but the France international completed a £7m switch to City instead.
- Scott Sinclair – Brendan Rodgers wanted to take Sinclair from Swansea City to Liverpool, but he opted to sign for City in an £8m switch.
- Stevan Jovetic – Benitez tried to sign Jovetic in summer 2009, but club bosses told him there was no money. Jovetic joined City in a £22m deal in July 2013.
- Leroy Sane – Sane admitted he held talks with Jurgen Klopp about a move to Liverpool in summer 2016, only to sign for City instead in a deal worth up to £46.5m.
- Ilkay Gundogan – Klopp also held talks with Gundogan, but he moved to City in a £21m deal in June 2016, becoming Pep Guardiola's first signing.
- Benjamin Mendy – City signed Mendy from AS Monaco in a £52m deal in July 2017. Liverpool decided against a move after concluding they would face competition from the Etihad.
- Aymeric Laporte – City paid £57m to sign Laporte in January 2018. Liverpool saw City's interest and Athletic Bilbao's release clause demands as significant obstacles.
Post-2018 targets
Since 2018, Liverpool have been interested in other players who joined City instead, including Ferran Torres, Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol, Matheus Nunes, Jeremy Doku, Rayan Cherki, Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo. These deals took place after the nine-year period under investigation, but City still inevitably benefitted from their financial wrongdoings in the years that followed.
