Pep Guardiola spoke with visible frustration after Manchester City were eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid, insisting his team had been the better side across the two legs.

“My biggest challenge has been [Jürgen] Klopp,” Guardiola said, recalling his enthralling Premier League battles with Liverpool over the years. He added of European opposition: “To play against Real Madrid so many times, with the generation we had, we were good enough. We won both matches. Statistically, we were similar; they eliminated us more often, but based on how we played, I think they know that too.”

When asked if Madrid were deserved winners, Guardiola’s reply was laconic: “1–5 … congratulations.”

After the tie was decided Guardiola went onto the pitch to shake hands with the Real Madrid squad. Most exchanges were routine, but an encounter with centre back Antonio Rüdiger escalated. The pair remained locked in a handshake while words were exchanged and both had to be separated by members of each side. The Real Madrid defender appeared to be doing most of the talking; Nathan Aké intervened as a peacemaker before Los Blancos boss Álvaro Arbeloa managed to drag his player away.

The defeat renewed the debate over City’s European record. City’s limited success on the continental stage — one title win in 10 seasons — is frequently cited by critics. Guardiola noted that only Carlo Ancelotti has won more European Cups than he has.

He suggested expectations have been shaped by his early achievements. “Everybody wants to fire me!” he said. He continued: “Listen, I started my career really young, in the second team in Barcelona and we were promoted. And my first season, after Barcelona won the treble, great success, and after, if my teams don’t win the treble, they are a failure. I know that.

“My first season here, you remember, ‘When are you going to win the Champions League?’ We won the league with 100 points. ‘When are you going to win the Champions League?’ In the end, we won it. ‘When are you going to win the Champions League?’”

The club record from 2016–17 to 2025–26 in the Champions League includes a 2022–23 winners finish against Inter, a 2020–21 final versus Chelsea and several eliminations by Real Madrid in recent seasons.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri declined to engage directly with speculation linking him to Real Madrid after his side were beaten 3–0 by Los Blancos in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. Speaking to Cadena SER, the Spaniard avoided a clear answer and left the possibility open.

“I’m not going to answer that,” Rodri said in regards to a potential move the Bernabéu. “It’s a moment to think about what we have now, with my team, in my season, and then we’ll see.”

The context for the interest is clear in public reporting: Real Madrid have signed some of the biggest names in the sport over the last two years but have still failed to replace Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić. On paper the club already had a long list of midfielders available, yet the creative void remains.

Xabi Alonso attempted to mould Federico Valverde or Arda Güler into the next Kroos, but neither player could match the almost impossible standard set by the German playmaker. Alonso also tried to deploy Bellingham in a deeper role to cover the lack of creativity, but the England international was occupied with tracking back for teammates and cleaning up mistakes rather than producing magic outside his No. 10 role.

Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga have been characterised as too defensive-minded to consistently pull the strings of the attack, leaving Real Madrid with a glaring hole in their squad. That is a vacancy the club would likely seek to fill from another team.

Real Madrid have not hidden their admiration for Rodri, and previous reports suggested they hoped to use the midfielder’s dwindling contract with City to acquire him at a lower cost. If the Sky Blues do not cash in this summer or next winter, they could watch him leave as a free agent in June 2027. Even worse than losing their Ballon d’Or winner would be to lose him for free.

The surge in transfer prices and squad valuations has reshaped how clubs are measured. The CIES Football Observatory produces those estimates by weighing a player’s quality, age, position and length of contract, and those individual valuations are then summed to give each squad a market value.

The scale is striking. There are nine clubs with squads valued above $1 billion. At the top is Real Madrid with a squad valuation of $1.78 billion and Kylian Mbappé listed as the most valuable player at $221 million. Barcelona follow with $1.60 billion, Lamine Yamal accounting for $403.9 million of that total. Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain each sit at $1.55 billion, with Bukayo Saka ($131.5 million) and Désiré Doué ($150.3 million) named as their most valuable players respectively.

Liverpool’s roster is valued at $1.20 billion, most valuable player Florian Wirtz ($149.8 million). Bayern Munich come in at $1.15 billion with Michael Olise ($162.6 million) as their top-rated asset. Tottenham’s squad is valued at $1.03 billion; Xavi Simons is listed as their most valuable player ($98.1 million), despite the club’s current relegation fight and Igor Tudor’s assessment that players “are lacking when we attack, we lack the quality to score the goal. We are lacking in the middle to run and we are lacking behind to stay there to suffer and not concede the goal.”

The list also includes Manchester United ($953 million, Benjamin Šeško $100.3 million) and Inter ($942 million, Lautaro Martínez $117 million). Earlier-positioned squads under $1 billion include Atlético Madrid ($903 million, Julián Álvarez $136.5 million), Juventus ($896 million, Kenan Yıldız $152.5 million) and Brighton ($894 million, Diego Gómez $86.4 million).

Several voices in the game have reflected on the market changes. Karl-Heinz Rumminegge said, “There are some players who do not come with a price tag.” Robert Lewandowski complained, “You are young, you score 10 goals in six months and some club will pay 60 or 70 million,” adding, “Before, you had to achieve something.” Vincent Kompany warned players about hype: “I always tell my players, ‘When there’s hype please don’t believe it, you’re not that good.’”

Whether the valuations mirror on-field quality or the inflation of a transfer market remains the central question CIES data brings into focus.