Pep Guardiola has got it wrong as Liverpool £52m transfer truth finally emerges

Pep Guardiola would surely have been taken aback when he tuned into events from Villa Park on Tuesday night.

Rather than, as the Manchester City boss had insisted over the weekend, everyone being behind Liverpool's attempt to win the Premier League title, the majority of those present wanted anything but the Reds once again putting pressure on his leaders.

A frivolous observation? Of course. One, though, that wouldn't have been required had Guardiola, in a clear attempt to create a siege mentality around his players following their painful Champions League semi-final exit to Real Madrid, not made such a bold and, yes, incorrect statement.

Any concessions of his words being lost somewhat in translation to what is a foreign tongue to the Catalan were rendered moot when he on Tuesday doubled down on his defence of City and their method of working, which has been brought into sharp focus by their imminent swoop for Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland.

Liverpool, said the City boss, had been the top spenders during their glory years of the 1970s and 1980s, just like City are now. However, not only is that entirely untrue - Manchester United and, yes, City outspent Liverpool during Bob Paisley's nine-year reign between 1974 and 1983 - it also ignores the present massive financial discrepancy between the Etihad side and almost every other club. The comparison is flawed.

Nevertheless, Guardiola might well argue that, at a reported £51million, Haaland represents something of a bargain if he is able to continue the outstanding scoring form shown so far in his still fledgling career. Certainly, it's barely half of what City spent to take Jack Grealish from Aston Villa last summer.

But where the Abu Dhabi riches really make a