Man City transformation followed Pep Guardiola challenge over £38m Real Madrid deal

Inside a sunny Vicarage Road, there was no shortage of heat from Pep Guardiola as he delivered the final press conference of his first season in English football. His team had just thrashed Watford 5-0 but there was far more interest in what was to come after an underwhelming campaign that saw the manager go without a trophy for the first time in his short but prolific career.

For the first time, the Manchester City manager said for the first time that Sergio Aguero would definitely be a part of his plans for the following season after months of tension between the pair that had been denied but would subsequently be admitted. Guardiola's message in his press conference was clear: it wasn't Aguero that had limited the Blues but the lack of support cast.

To make his point, the City manager cited Real Madrid spending £38million on a 16-year-old that few had heard of as a warning to his bosses of how difficult it would be to close the gap on the best teams in Europe if they did not transform the squad in the summer transfer squad.

Also read: Joao Cancelo powers to Man City milestone ahead of Real Madrid game

“Next season we will be better, and as a coach I am better than the year before, but it is not simple. Real Madrid have just bought one player, 16-years-old for 46 million euros (£38m), so you can imagine the market,” Guardiola said.

“To compete with Barca and Real we need time, we need decades to be there. Money is not enough — when Real and Barca want a player, other teams cannot compete.”

That summer would see City take major steps to reducing the deficit as Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Danilo, and Benjamin Mendy all arrived - with Aymeric Laporte joining mid-season - to set a new standard in English football