Rummenigge: Manchester City, PSG are global inflaters of transfer fees

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are guilty of inflating transfer fees throughout world football, according to Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

PSG smashed the world’s transfer record last August in completing a €222million move for Neymar from Barcelona, while the Ligue 1 champions also paid €180m to buy Monaco prodigy Kylian Mbappe.

City, meanwhile, invested in the region of £200m in their squad ahead of the 2017-18 season, with Pep Guardiola’s side then romping to a record-breaking title triumph.

The Premier League champions have since broken their transfer record to sign Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City despite Guardiola saying in January the club could not spend “£100m on one player, or £90m or £80m”.

Bayern, meanwhile, have a comparatively modest transfer record and Rummenigge lays the blame for rapidly rising fees directly at the door of City and PSG.

“He [Guardiola] said they originally planned to buy a few more players but decided against it because they no longer want to be part of the madness,” Rummenigge said to Merkur.

“I was a bit surprised to hear this at first, but then I thought it would indeed be wonderful if this statement were to be true until the English window closes.

“City, PSG [Paris Saint-Germain] – they’ve always been the global inflaters. Not Real [Madrid], who have spent next to nothing in the past years, which is proof you don’t have to join the madness to win the Champions League.

“That’s also our path. It’s our goal to again lift the Champions League trophy, rather sooner than later.”

Rummenigge previously insisted Bayern would not sell star striker Robert Lewandowski, who has been linked with Real Madrid, even if a club was to bid €150m.