If Manchester City were to finish sixth in any league these days, it would be a disappointment.
However, one table released this month shows that City are sitting pretty behind five domestic and European rivals when it comes to their spending, and undermines one of the main criticisms often aimed at the Blues - as well as supporting a key point that Pep Guardiola has been trying to make.
The Deloitte Money League for 2021/22 saw City come first for a second year in a row for their £619.1million generated, including a Premier League record of almost £330m in commercial revenue. It was a marked increase on last year's revenue of £571.1m, and shows the progress being made off the field as well as the continued success on it.
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As City dominate the domestic picture, and continue to challenge for European honours, rivals will find any stick to beat them with - and money is often an easy winner. If Guardiola ever makes changes to his side, and leaves some more high-profile names on the bench, expect their collective transfer fees to be totted up and used against the Blues.
Of course, the issue of elite clubs using their financial power to buy the best players, or hoard the best young players, is an issue that affects the whole football pyramid. However, every player has a value, and City have walked away from plenty of deals if they feel that value is too high. It's not City's fault that broadcasting deals in recent years have inflated the value of players, and the bank accounts of top-flight clubs.
As Guardiola has stressed, unprompted, on a few occasions recently, City's net-spend in recent seasons is significantly lower than many of their rivals, and the club made a profit overall in 2022 thanks to the sales of players like Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Aleks Zinchenko.
The point the manager has been trying to make is that, obviously City spend money, but they try to spend it wisely - and they are not the only club getting their chequebooks out. Look at Chelsea's spending this month, or the fact that Manchester United have spent similar amounts to City in recent years but remain without a major trophy since 2017. Or Liverpool's £120m spent on Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo.
A deeper look into the Deloitte Money League results, courtesy of Swiss Ramble, further underlines the point Guardiola has been trying to make regarding City's spending compared to others.
When it comes to their wage bill, City have the sixth highest in Europe, and sit behind both Manchester United and Liverpool in the Premier League. Paris Saint-Germain lead the way with astronomical wages of £615m, while Real Madrid's £441m and Barcelona's £395m bills are all higher than any Premier League club.
United had the highest wage bill in England in 2021/22 at £385m, and Liverpool spent £368m on wages last season. Only then do City come in at £353m, narrowly ahead of Chelsea's £342m. Yet City won the league last year ahead of Liverpool, with Chelsea and United finishing third and sixth respectively, with points gaps of 19 points and 35 points.
Bayern Munich, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Arsenal and Tottenham all spent between £200-300m on their wage bills.
Interestingly, City's revenues were behind Liverpool's when it came to matchday and broadcasting incomes, but a significant proportion of commercial revenue (£316m compared to £233m) meant that the Blues' overall revenues came out on top. In fact, City's broadcasting income came in below Liverpool and Real Madrid, while matchday revenue came in as the tenth-highest in Europe, further underlining the importance of their commercial operation.
It's worth considering that since last season, City's wage bill has seen Erling Haaland added to it, as well as a new contract for Phil Foden. While players like Sterling, Jesus and Fernandinho have left, next season's total could potentially increase.
So too, though, could Chelsea's for example - they've signed a number of players in the summer and in January, including Sterling, Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Koulibly, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Mykhailo Mudryk, among many others who will be high-earners. They could very easily overtake the Blues, while Liverpool and United have been active in the transfer market so could too stay above City.
City have obviously spent an extraordinary amount, but what the Money League rankings show clearly is that so have the majority of their main rivals. Guardiola has been stressing the point for weeks, so when their recent successes are compared to other high-spending clubs he may have been trying to say that success is not simply down to how much money a club has.
It's what they do with it.
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