Pellegrini’s complaints emphasize that City only have themselves to blame

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini gave his assessment of why his team once again failed progress past the Champions League Round of 16:

"I think we need to improve. If we want to be successful in Europe, we must improve.

"I also think that it was maybe not our best year to continue in Europe. Remember we have important restrictions about the amount of players, the amount of money that we can spend, so it was a difficult year for us, for our team in that sense.

"But I think that maybe if we don't play against Barcelona we can continue."

Via goal.com http://bit.ly/1I1xMJP

City were limited to naming just 21 players in their Champions League squad (instead of 25) after falling foul of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play system.

In a nutshell, FFP is designed to encourage clubs to balance their books, rather than relying on rich benefactors to bankroll lavish transfer spending. It applies to domestic as well as European competitions, with sanctions for offenders ranging in severity from a warning, to points deductions or even to the withdrawal of a title or award.

City, who is owned by the multi-billionaire Sheikh Mansour, has been a prime candidate to fall foul of FFP ever since the scheme was first sanctioned in 2009. To date, Mansour has astonishingly poured over $2.25bn into the club, funding transfer fees and facilities upgrades, as well as absorbing financial losses. This season alone, City has spent $170m on new players.

Yet despite that spending, with just two months left of the season City are out of the Champions League at the first knock-out hurdle and find themselves six points out of first place in the Premier League. Manuel Pellegrini is facing questions about his job security and people are questioning City’s policy of solving problems by throwing money at them.

Whilst recent opponents Barcelona can hardly be described as being stingy in the transfer market, there is one glaring difference between the two squads that speaks volumes about the way the clubs are run:

Current Barcelona squad players developed through Barcelona youth system: 10

Current Man City squad players developed through Man City youth system: 0

Developing and nurturing players through a youth academy is vital for the long-term health of football club. City have taken steps to amend this issue by recently opening a brand-new $375m Academy centre, but the results of the talent developed there won’t be seen for several years yet.

City’s complaints about FFP restrictions will generate little sympathy; as the saying goes, you reap what you sow.

Image via manchestereveningnews.co.uk