Maresca dismisses £400m City spending as 'crazy' market ahead of Manchester derby

Enzo Maresca has brushed aside questions about Manchester City’s £400m-plus summer spending spree, arguing the transfer market is “crazy” and that price tags are no measure of a player’s worth — comments that arrive days before his first Manchester derby as City manager.

Maresca equalled the British transfer record when signing Enzo Fernandez for £125m, having already committed £116m to Elliot Anderson. A third midfielder, Morocco international Ayyoub Bouaddi, brought the total outlay on that position alone to £301m. Yet the City boss said the numbers barely register with him.

“I don’t pay much attention to the price because I don’t pay the money,” Maresca said. “It’s more about good players.”

Manchester United, who host City on Sunday, also reinforced their midfield this summer, bringing in three players for an initial combined fee of £148m. Maresca was careful not to draw a hierarchy between the two clubs’ recruits.

“The ones who arrived here and joined United are all top players,” he said. “That’s the most important thing. How much the club paid for them? I don’t think it’s correct to judge players on how much we pay because the market is crazy.”

Maresca also reflected on City’s long-standing ability to replace generational talents without losing momentum. He pointed to the arrivals of Erling Haaland after Sergio Agüero’s departure, Rodri stepping in for Fernandinho, and Kevin De Bruyne filling the void left by David Silva as evidence that the club’s recruitment infrastructure is built for exactly this kind of transition.

“I feel very lucky because these three players arrived — Enzo, Elliot and Ayyoub,” he said. “One of the big achievements of this club has been to replace players and it’s not easy. Before, the club was Txiki [Begiristain] when he was here, now the club with Hugo [Viana]. So for sure I feel very lucky because it’s not easy to replace these kind of players.”

Sunday’s derby at Old Trafford will be Maresca’s first taste of one of English football’s most fiercely contested fixtures since taking charge at the Etihad.