Manchester City smashed through record after record when they won the Premier League title last season, but will they be able to defend it?
With the return of English Premier League football, Pep’s men will attempt to do what no team has managed since 2009.
But why, when compared to Real Madrid, Juventus and PSG, do top teams in the EPL struggle to retain the top spot? Let’s take a look at some of the factors.
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Show me the money
The sheer popularity of the league, along with their £5.14bn TV deal, gives all clubs unrivaled spending power compared to other European leagues. That means that after failing to win the title, leading teams are able to adjust their lineups and strengthen their squads in preparation for the next season.
In the nine seasons since the last successful title defense by Manchester United in 2009, the defending champions have been outspent in seven different summer transfer windows by the next team who would go on to win the title.
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Mistakes in the market
Maicon, Bartosz Kaputska, Jack Rodwell and Baba Rahman were all brought into champion clubs during transfer windowns and aside from a few notables like Pedro and Fellaini, most players who sign on to defending champion teams fail to make an impression.
They made a similar mistake in 2015 when Rahman, Kenedy, Nathan, Matt Miazga, Asmir Begovic, Falcao, Papy Djilobodji and Michael Hector joined alongside Pedro.
After their dramatic league win in 2012, Manchester City's summer outlay was £55.76m on players such as Maicon, Rodwell, Javi Garcia, Matija Nastasic and Scott Sinclair.
A trend has emerged of Premier League champions recruiting the wrong players between winning the title and beginning their defense.
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The competition on the continent
In recent years, Leicester City and Chelsea had an advantage in their title races as they didn't have to play Champions League football.
The following season both clubs failed to retain their status, and the increased number of games played in Europe was definitely a factor. Leicester for instance played 43 matches in the 2015-16 season compared to the 54 they played when they were defending champions. Chelsea played 47 matches in 2016-17 and that increased to 59 during the season where they slipped to fifth.
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Will the new season be different?
Clubs have continued in their bid to catch up by making big-money signings during the transfer season with Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool making big changes. Liverpool specifically have recruited to the value of £171.55m, vastly outspending Manchester City.
The big difference this year is the sheer gap between Mancheester City and the rest of the pack, ending last season with a buffer of 19 points. This difference may be too much for many teams and if there was ever a chance for another back-to-back win, the time is surely now.
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