Pep Guardiola's 10 most expensive signings

Analysis

Matthew Judge | Editor

Having dominated modern football with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has a strong claim to be regarded as the greatest manager of all time.

While the Catalan has won a mind-boggling amount of trophies in Spain, Germany and England, including 12 league titles and three Champions League crowns, his innovative tactics have also transformed the way the beautiful game is played across the world.

Whether it’s through his possession-heavy tiki-taka style at Barcelona, or his inverted full-backs at Bayern, or his high-and-wide wingers at Man City, you will have to look far and wide to find a manager who has not cited Guardiola as a reference point for their coaching methods.

In order to build fluid, attacking teams capable of winning football’s biggest honours, managers - like Guardiola - often need to need to work at elite clubs who have the budgets required to sign world-class players.

With that in mind, one may ask: which players has Guardiola signed in pursuit of the most lucrative trophies in world football and which of them cost the most money?

If you are looking for the answer to that question, then you are in the right place, as FootballTransfers takes a look at the top 10 most expensive signings in Guardiola’s golden career to date.

10. Matheus Nunes (Man City - €62m/£53.7m)

Having labelled Matheus Nunes as “one of the best players in the world” after his Man City side faced Sporting CP in the Champions League in 2022, Guardiola then lured the midfielder to the Etihad Stadium just a year later from Wolves.

And after a quiet start to his City career, Guardiola has since turned Nunes into a rock-solid right-back in recent seasons - a testament to the Spaniard’s incredible coaching abilities.

9. Aymeric Laporte/Joao Cancelo (Man City - €65m/£56.3m)

Signed for the same fee but seven months apart, Guardiola strengthened his City defence with the acquisitions of Aymeric Laporte and Joao Cancelo from Athletic Club and Juventus respectively.

The first to arrive in January 2018, Laporte’s left foot allowed City to build attacks a lot quicker down their left flank, with the defender playing a key role in the club winning the domestic treble in 2018-19.

On the other hand, Cancelo - who moved to City in August of the same year - was deployed week-in week-out at left-back for the first time in his career under Guardiola, with the Portugal international’s impressive performances leading to him being named in the PFA Team of the Year in back-to-back seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22).

8. Riyad Mahrez (Man City - €67.8m/£58.7m)

When you think of Guardiola’s time at City, your mind immediately recalls all of the great wide players he has worked with in M11, from Leroy Sane to Raheem Sterling to Bernardo Silva’s prime years.

Another incredible winger who Guardiola coached at City was Riyad Mahrez, whom - following his arrival from Leicester City in July 2018 - took his game to the next level by scoring 78 goals in 236 appearances.

7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona - €69.5m/£60.2m)

In one of modern football's most famous transfers for all the wrong reasons, Guardiola splashed the cash to bring Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona in July 2009.

However, after just one season working together, Ibrahimovic was loaned to AC Milan the following summer, and the Sweden legend would spend the rest of his career criticising Guardiola’s man-management.

6. Rodri (Man City - €70m/£60.6m)

After turning Sergio Busquets into one of the best holding midfielders of all time at Barcelona, Guardiola did the same again when signing Rodri from Atletico Madrid in July 2019.

The No. 6 became the beating heart of the City side which won the treble under Guardiola in 2022-23, and he also went on to become the first Spanish player since Luis Suarez in 1960 to win the Ballon d’Or in 2024.

5. Ruben Dias (Man City - €71.6m/£62m)

While Guardiola repeatedly won trophies at Barcelona, Bayern and City, there was a period when he struggled identifying centre-backs who were perfect for his methodology, with the likes of Dmytro Chyhrynskyi and Mehdi Benatia failing to make the grade under his stewardship.

However, that all seemed to change when Guardiola signed Ruben Dias from Benfica in September 2020, with the Portugal ace going on to become one of his manager’s trusted lieutenants over the next six Premier League seasons with City.

4. Antoine Semenyo (Man City - €73.8m/£64m)

After struggling to replace Mahrez’s goals following his departure in 2023, City finally fixed that issue when signing Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth in January of this year.

And the Ghana international has made stepping up to the highest level look incredibly easy, scoring 10 goals in 25 games including a spectacular winner in the 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

Semenyo with a stunning finish to give Manchester City the lead at Wembley 🔥

📺 Watch live on TNT Sports and HBO Max pic.twitter.com/ZMVKJ9htGi

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 16, 2026

3. Omar Marmoush (Man City - €75m/£65m)

Keen to take some of the load off Erling Haaland by bringing a back-up striker to City, Guardiola signed Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2025.

And in his first six months in Manchester, the Egypt international scored a magnificent long-range effort against Bournemouth in May of that year, with the strike going on to win the Premier League's Goal of the Season award for 2024-25.

2. Josko Gvardiol (Man City - €90m/£78m)

Having emerged as one of Europe’s most promising young defenders for RB Leipzig and Croatia, Guardiola convinced the City board to break the bank for Josko Gvardiol’s signature in August 2023.

Capable of operating at centre-back and left-back, Gvardiol’s superb composure on the ball had a hand in City winning their fourth Premier League title in a row under Guardiola in 2023-24.

1. Jack Grealish (Man City - €115.3m/£100m)

After catching the eye for England during their run to the final of the delayed 2020 European Championship, Guardiola and City stumped up a then-British record transfer fee in order to sign Jack Grealish in August 2021.

And the winger had a huge say in City becoming just the second English side to win the treble in 2022-23, scoring five goals in 50 appearances in what remains the greatest season in the club’s history.

Written by

Matthew Judge | Editor

Matthew Judge is a freelance sports writer from Liverpool, United Kingdom. He has worked for/had words published by Everton Football Club, The Independent, Daily Mirror, Stats Perform, Goal, and Squawka, among others.

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