Manchester City: £200m to spend but who do you want them to buy?

A day is a long time in football, just ask Manchester City Football Club.

The long-suffering supporters of the Eastlands club woke up this morning to find the landscape of their footballing world transformed beyond belief after a mind-boggling 24 hours.

Yesterday morning City were a club burdened by doubt, their under-fire owner embroiled in court proceedings and the club no more than hopeful of securing a top-eight finish in the Premier League.

But following astonishing developments during which the club was taken over by members of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, City now have an estimated £200million to spend on the world’s best players.

So here’s what we want you to do: put yourself in Mark Hughes’s shoes (probably very expensive ones) and tell us who you would buy with estimated £200m that has been put aside to make City the “biggest club in the Premier League”.

For that kind of money, you’re looking at perhaps four Kakas, or you might prefer six David Villas and a Lionel Messi? Of course you could always buy 48 Bruno Cheyrous but you may want to spend your money rather more wisely. Oliver Kay, our expert in the North West, has picked seven talents that should be at the top of City's shopping list.

The world of football is your oyster and the choice is yours: who are you going to buy? Leave your suggestions in the comment box below.

Ben Smith

Comments

[bats]

cech / buffon

richards
terry
gallas / ferdinand
lahm / bale

ronaldo / ribery
silva / schweinstiger
villa / stevie g
messi

kaka
robinho
drogba / torres

the list could go on and on!!!

[Luke Garner]

Man City are the latest club linked with Nigerian wonderkid Banji Lagunju, rumours are they are prepared to offer Kano Pillars £5million for the promising left back. Exciting times ahead for City...

[Steve]

Mark Hughes has a few months to test his current team to see which ones can make the step up.
Petrov is a top class left winger and with Jo up front with Robinho and/or Elano just behind there's not much wrong in attack.

SWP, Ireland and Johnson may suffer next summer but I think the defence is where most of the initial spending will take place.
Mark Hughes is a pragmatist and knows that you've got to build from the back. Fergie did this with Bruce and Pallister and later Schmeichel, Wenger inherited his famous back 5, Mourinho immediately installed Terry and bought Cech and Carvalho to give him his base.

With Kompany in front of the defense I'd buy:
Daniel Alves at right back
Chiellini to partner Richards in the centre
Lahm at left back.

As for a keeper - Cech, Buffon and Casillas are unlikely to want to leave their clubs and unlikely to be sold.
As there aren't too many great ones about I'd go for Boruc or Frey.

[Ben]

Buy big players like:
Kaka
Messi
Ronaldo
Torres
Gallas
Clincy
BENZEMA(CHEAPER BETTER)

[Chris H]

Great for City, a disaster for the game in general in England and all other P.L clubs. City are not in the Champions League and still wont be next season which will make it hard for them to attract the very best of world talent and probably for Mark Hughes to keep his job. Clubs will once again charge silly prices for average players and City will have to pay over £20m for squad players just as Chelsea did i.e. Shaun Wright Phillips who cost £24m and was probably not worth half that fee. It also means other clubs will be forced to pay silly prices for players as player price inflation will increase again as it did when Chelsea began splashing the silly cash. Gareth Barry would never have been an £18m player if Roman hadn't started the trend at Chelsea of paying well over the odds. Liverpool and Arsenal have the most to lose from City's takeover as it is their Champions League spots that will be challenged by City in the long run but only if City can attract 4-5 other world class players to join Robinho and the new owners give their manager some time to develop a team and not just a collection of expensive players.

[geo0orgeee]

personally idc as long as they stay away from barcas players =)
but. . in reality half of the players yu think of that are superstars wouldnt leave because of the club. .
- casillas for the right price
- arshavin
- silva
- bale
- GALLAS - he was considering leaving this year if sum of yous remember
- flush out 60 mill for kaka
- benzema for the right price

[jdr]

iker casillas
sergio ramos, canavaro, pepe, marcelo
roben, gago, guti, snijder
raul, ruud van
Wait there is already a team with all these great players and even more and that is the best team in the world REAL MADRID

[Leo]

Another reason i don't watch the game anymore. Love watching Messi and his like weave their magic, but where is the sport in buying titles -it's more like reading the FT or BRW...who is buying who and what.

Find some integrity - take a look at the real sports stars, not money stars, on show in the, so called, minor sports in the Olympics. Men and women who train hard, sacrifice deserve the recognition in sports pages, not millionaires buying trophies - be they foreign or not millionaires, it doesn't matter.

[Jake 7]

We have a great team ethic and spirit of youth within our side which as been nutured by Jim Cassell and the Acdemy team. Just look at the likes of SWP, SI, MR, MJ and so on that have made an impact on the Premier League. I agree getting big names will make city a more attarctive global brand, however city is city because its about the local citizens, please lets not destroy the the heritage city stands by buying success rather than supporting and developing the kids of manchester to get an opportunity of stardum.

[taji]

i think they shud go for
gg buffon or s frey as da gk
sergio ramos def
daniel alves def
quaresma and david silva for da flair on da wings as ronaldo will not play for city
and a playmaker like pirlo or fabregas
and an experienced attacker like toni or ibrahimovic to partner with robinho..
this team will defi win dem trophies..

[Giordano Bennetti]

So long as City's owners decide who to buy, and not the manager, then they'll struggle to win anything.

Madrid's Galacticos went (was it?) four years without a trophy.

Abramovitch's Chelsea have just gone 2 years without the League and never won the Champions League.

Wenger and Ferguson have brought stability and success and will continue to do so. Hughes will be lucky to last 2 seasons.

[Jason]

Former Arsenal legend Igor Stepanovs would be a sound investment, although they might pay over the odds now that evry club knows the amount of money they have. Chelsea have been paying at least double a players real worth for a while now, and have increased the cost of others as well.

Can anyone directly pinpoint the time when Footballs soul was sold?

[reuben anderson]

"English" football ain't ruined, a number of english clubs with a lot of history are at risk from financial speculation. The premier league has a global audience and superstars... but it means the top division of the english league isn't very english.

As Capello says "other teams exist"... other leagues, countries, players. So what if the very best players on the planet aren't english? English football just needs to take a look in the mirror and accept where it's at.

More of a worry... try finding a kid under 10 who doesn't support a top 4 team.

£200m? I don't know, depends where you're starting from as a club. City need some strikers who can stay fit, and some wide midfielders. And perhaps you'd spend a bit on a world class goalkeeper.

[yanarinu0104]

Very lucky for Man City fans .. many great club would love to have owners like yours... i think mark hughes will definitely spend the money from his sugar daddy offer .. until january city should buy what they need .. to many star will ruin their team work... good defense usually wins the game ... start from there ... i think city will now attract star players .. just SHOW THEM THE MONEY and they will come !!! lol

[will]

cj
you do realise your playing a 4 5 3 formation there right? as in 13 players. ino there rich but im pretty sure they cant pay for too extra positions on the pitch! lol

for me messi would have to be the first players they went after, he is by far the best player in the world would cost in excess of 100 million probably but is the only player in the world who i think you could even contemplate spending that sort of cash on. other than that im not a city fan so i dont know, but by God is this going to be the best season ever. Manu european champions, chelsea extremely strong, mancity with money to burn and a decent side already, tottenham who will finish at worst 6th, and arsenal and liverpool who will be terrified of not finishing in the top 4. not to mention the likes of villa and pompey who could also come anywhere from 4th to 8th. imagine what would have happend if this take over had happend 10 days ago! pffffffffffffffff. lol

[scousekraut]

English football is dead. Long live money.

[mh]

OK I'll lower myself to £200..but that's my last offer !!

[Fred]

any 7 world class players will do...whats the difference...another Chelsea - like casualty?We'll see a new BIG Four will rule the English Premier League Title...yeah...

[Mike]

GK: Frey
DF: Sergio Ramos
DF: Pepe
DF: Mexes
DF: Lahm
MF: Ribery
MF: Gerrard (He'll never leave though)
MF: De Rossi
MF: Ashavin
ST: Robinho
ST: Totti

They can pretty much get whoever they want, ridiculous!

[Lee]

A ridiculous amount of money. Every time they give out this type of money in the EPL the English national side takes another step backwards.

[Peter Kinsey]

Besides signing world class players - If they are serious about investing in the club and not just having an expensive toy - City has a good academy - they should invest even more in it and grow some local talent!

[Neil]

Shay, you're talking nonsense. Thorncroft is an everton lad through and through, and your high 5's, bum slaps, and fancy cars won't turn his head.

[Shay]

I tink dey shud sign Torncroft, midfield dynamo if ever I saw one. And he's pretty aswell. I like him a lot.

[pete]

sergio ramos and gago from real madriddavid silva and sergio aguero to give them some more flair upfront, and maybe benzema just to annoy fergie.

[god]

I agree. Remember this date. English football IS officially ruined. How many Englishmen named in those Superstars?