I never really understand if people are sincere in saying “Oh I don’t carewhat City pay, doesn’t concern me.”
I don’t own any of the players, even as employees. I don’t own the stadium. Hell, I don’t even own the seat I sit in. It’s lent to me, temporarily, and I can be ejected from it. Temporarily. Or indeed permanently.
Not one penny we pay for player x,y or z comes directly out of my bank account. I’ve noticed that. Which is just as well, because four days ago my wallet was stolen by a pickpocket, they somehow had the number for my bank card, and they cleaned out what was left in my current account within eight minutes flat. Anyway, let that go, as being entirely beside the point.
I own it all. In my heart, I own it all. Everything that Manchester City Football Club decides, all aspects of its policies, concerns me. That includes — especially includes — transfer fees. I do not like to see my club being taken for a ride. It doesn’t happen often now, but it does occasionally. We’ve all got our idea of what the market is — we see players being bought, we see players being sold, every transfer window — we form a judgement which we believe to be approximately correct. Yes, I care very much what City pay out for a given player. I intensely dislike seeing my club being taken for what would be, in my judgement (right or wrong), a ride.
By the way, contrary to appearances, Pep is not God. He works within a structure, powerful as he is. He knows that. City is a business, working within constraints. He knows that too. I’m certain he does not just march to Khaldoon, to the sheik, or even to Txiki, and say “I need that player, get him at any price.” He’s got far too much respect for them, for the club, for that.
If the player seems to be available, and amenable to a move, and the other club is not completely hostile, that’s when the process of negotiations starts.
All these things are thunderingly obvious. But they seem to need repeating, sometimes.