The ramifications of the Manchester City case are so significant that many football debates cannot avoid mentioning their financial chicanery. For spending far too much of their own money on players over the past couple of decades - well, for disguising where that money came from - City’s owners have landed their club at the mercy of sanctions that could send it into oblivion.
Running parallel to this storyline is one now promoted by Lisandro Martinez - Manchester United have not spent enough on players. For spending beyond their means, City are in all sorts of trouble. For spending within their means, United’s hierarchy is getting pelters from one of its own players. That is essentially that.
Similar gross spending over a decade
But leave aside the source of the revenue that funded their transfer activity, the simple fact is that over the last decade, City and United have spent roughly the same amount, in gross terms, on players. City’s gross spend over the past ten seasons is around £1.8billion, United’s around the £1.7billion mark. In fact, in that time, United’s net spend of around £1.1billion is more than City’s, which comes in at just under the £1billion mark.
Of course, what Martinez was specifically referring to was the transfer activity in the most recent window. In gross and net terms, United lagged way behind City. In the overall rankings of gross Premier League spenders in the summer window, United were ninth. In the net spending table, they were seventh. But you cannot judge a club’s ambition on one window, as Martinez seems to have done.
Lack of shrewd judgement
The bottom line is that over the past ten years, United’s outlay on players should have given them a more formidable squad than the one Michael Carrick has at his disposal right now. There has not been a lack of ambition down the years, there has been a lack of shrewd judgement. Too many signings have not worked out, have not had the right character for the challenge.
And you can probably include Martinez in that bracket. He has had his moments, and he has had to recover from some serious physical setbacks, most notably the cruciate ligament injury that kept him out for ten months in 2025. But Martinez has hardly been a stand-out Premier League defender since he arrived at Old Trafford in 2022.
It has been reported that some senior players support his overt criticism of the executives, in particular his criticism of Jason Wilcox, United’s director of football.
Players must look at themselves
Fair enough. Fair enough. But never mind the players United should have bought, the ones they have should be taking a long, hard look at themselves. I was at Old Trafford for the draw against Spurs last Saturday and the deficiencies in that performance could not be laid at Wilcox’s door. It was down to those characters on the park that the Spurs players, to a man, looked fitter and sharper. It was down to those characters on the park that the Spurs players, to a man, looked more enthusiastic and hungrier. It was down to those characters on the park that the Spurs players, to a man, looked faster.
In the defeat to Atletico Madrid, United were a bit better. But it remains painfully obvious that the lack of intensity in this United squad is the core problem. And where does that come from? It comes from a deep-rooted malaise that sees United’s signings think they have made it when they join such an iconic institution. It comes from complacency. It comes from not having that extra level of self-motivation. It comes from the players. It doesn’t come from Jason Wilcox.
