one wants to accept and the skill Arsenal and Man United cannot match

Manchester City could conceivably spend £300m on central midfielders this summer, an outlay that has plenty quoting a slightly lower figure in a mixture of anger, disbelief and ignorance at how the Blues can splash such cash.

Until a decision is finally reached on the outstanding 115 charges, that mud will continue to be splattered in City's direction. But if those furious at a club spending so much on new talent wanted to look, there are more subtle explanations than crying financial foul play.

For one, few can match the revenues City are able to rake in, with the Blues earning £694.1m in the financial year ending June 30, 2025, albeit with a marginal loss of £9.9m, and more than £700m in the two years prior to that.

Broadcasting and commercial revenue make up the bulk of those headline figures but payer sales also represent a huge chunk. The last accounting period shows City made £95.2 million from player sales, the third-highest figure in the club’s history, and one they look set to comfortably eclipse this summer.

And it's that innate ability to make good money from departing players that has helped City to go again when it comes to strengthening the squad. Clearly it is not the dominant factor but if you can maximise player sales then it gives you a handy fillip when looking to enter the market.

It's an area that City have excelled in in recent years and are doing so again this summer, with more than £80million in the bank already and a couple of big-name departures still a possibility, with Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders close to leaving.

For context, Liverpool's sales this summer have yet to reach £1million with no senior departures bringing in money and any academy exits being on free transfers or for lower fees.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have sold three first-team players in Jakub Kiwior, Christian Norgaard and Leandro Trossard for less than City got for James Trafford.

Mikel Arteta's side could still rake in sizeable fees for the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus or even Myles Lewis-Skelly, but an indication of how well City are able to sell players compared to their rivals is shown by Arsenal's record sale still being the £35million that took Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool in 2019. In the seven years since that deal, City have sold seven players for a higher price, including Jesus to the Gunners.

It's not just at the Emirates or Anfield where big sales are hard to come by. Manchester United have been consistently poor sellers over the last decade and three of the five biggest transfer sales in their history (Romelu Lukaku, Angel Di Maria and Rasmus Hojlund) were for fees below the price United paid to sign them in the first place.

Perhaps only Chelsea can rival City for star marks when it comes to player sales, with the Stamford Bridge outfit having obtained up to £50m for Andrey Santos last month. The Blues also sell well from their academy, something City have made a USP of theirs in recent times, earning more than £250m from academy sales in the past five years alone. This summer Chelsea have made around £44m from the departures of Tyrique George and Trevoh Chalobah.

But then that is offset by the sheer volume of signings Chelsea make. No side has a higher net spend (£850m) than Xabi Alonso's men over the past five seasons. The top six spots in that table, compiled by Football 365, are filled by the 'big six'. City (£441m) are sixth, more than £150m down on United in fourth and more than £200m down on Arsenal in third.

The stark reality of those numbers will do little to quell the online noise of those crying foul but it is one reason why City are able to spend big should the need arise. The Blues are undergoing a significant rebuild, which started 18 months ago but is only in its fourth transfer window.

For all the emotion attached to big-money moves, City have made it their business to be the best in the business at maximising the transfer income. It's a forte no other club is able to match.

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