How much City really paid for Guehi?
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Reading Time: 4min | Wed. 21.01.26. | 19:31
The sums which the Citizens gave for the England international are insane
Joško Gvardiol’s injury was the last straw and forced Pep Guardiola to finally turn to the January market for a solution. The choice fell on Marc Guehi, and it is somewhat ironic that Crystal Palace gave in to Oliver Glasner’s ultimatum—he had threatened to leave if an adequate replacement for the England international was not brought in—which is why the club turned down big money in the June. Palace have now received 23 million euros for the transfer and thus closed this chapter, while for Manchester City this will not be a deal measured by “just” the transfer fee. The entire transfer will cost far more. According to The Athletic, citing sources close to the deal, the total outlay for Guehi’s transfer will run into nine figures. The England international has signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with City and, according to the same source, will earn around 345,000 euros. Over the duration of the contract—five and a half years—Marc Guehi would earn roughly 100 million euros gross in wages alone. Of course, that figure would be somewhat lower after taxes and other deductions, but essentially, enormous sums are involved.
Interestingly, Manchester City have already reacted unofficially to these speculations, claiming that Guehi’s salary is significantly lower than the quoted 345,000 per week. Other media outlets report a figure closer to 300,000 per week, which is not a drastically smaller difference. On top of that, The Athletic writes that Manchester City paid a hefty agent’s commission to secure the player’s signature. The exact amount has not been disclosed, but in modern football we can speak of 10–15 million euros, or even more than that range. Liverpool had Guehi on a ‘plate‘ in June—the player even underwent medical examinations in London—before Glasner’s ultimatum stopped the entire deal. Journalist James Pearce, who specializes in covering the Anfield giants, says the club assessed that the overall financial package of the transfer ultimately was not a “smart deal,” which is why they walked away relatively easily.
The primary reason is that Liverpool operate on a self-sustaining business model, spending only the money they have at their disposal. Guehi’s wages would have been the main issue, because if it is indeed true that he was offered 345,000 per week, that would place him among City’s highest earners and make him the highest-paid defender on the payroll. All right, Manchester City had to react quickly on the market and probably pay a premium on Guehi’s wages, given that alongside Josko Gvardiol, both Ruben Dias and John Stones are also sidelined, while Nathan Ake has been performing very poorly. But now we will see what the English centre-back is really made of. This will be his first major challenge in his career, and the pressure at this club is far greater than at Crystal Palace. Modern football and its business models are full of inconsistencies, but if anyone thinks the transfer fee itself was a bargain, the additional costs are there to take the entire deal to a far more serious financial level.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 7
Tuesday
Kairat Almaty - Club Brugge 1-4 (0-2)
/Sadybekov 90+2 - Stankovic 32, Vanaken 38, Vermant 74, Mechele 84/
Bodo/Glimt - Manchester City 3-1 (2-0)
/Hogh 22, 24, Hauge 58 - Cherki 60/
Copenhagen - Napoli 1-1 (0-1)
/Larsson 72 - McTominay 39/
Inter Milan - Arsenal 1-3 (1-2)
/Sucic 18 - Jesus 10, 31, Gyokeres 84/
Real Madrid - Monaco 6-1 (2-0)
/Mbappe 5, 26, Mastantuono 51, Kehrer 55 og, Vinicius Jr 63, Bellingham 81 - Teze 72/
Olympiacos - Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 (2-0)
/Costinha 2, Taremi 45+1/
Sporting Lisbon - PSG 2-1 (0-0)
/Suarez 74, 90+1 - Kvaratskhelia 79/
Tottenham - Dortmund 2-0 (2-0)
/Romero 14, Solanke 37/
Villarreal - Ajax 1-2 (0-0)
/Oluwaseyi 49 - Gloukh 61, Edvardsen 90/
Wednesday
20.45: (3.50) Galatasaray (3.50) Atl.Madrid (2.05)
20.45: (3.15) Qarabag (3.50) Eintr.Frankfurt (2.20)
23.00: (1.90) Atalanta (3.50) Ath.Bilbao (4.20)
23.00: (1.12) Bayern (12.0) St.Gilloise (19.0)
23.00: (1.15) Chelsea (9.50) Paphos (19.0)
23.00: (1.82) Juventus (3.50) Benfica (4.50)
23.00: (1.48) Newcastle (4.40) PSV (6.75)
23.00: (3.90) Olympique Marseille (3.50) Liverpool (1.95)
23.00: (8.00) Slavia Praha (5.75) Barcelona (1.33)
***odds are subject to change***
