I think that the FFP investigation is hurting them. A few years ago they could buy a lot of players for £50m or more just to sit on the bench and fill the squad. They are still cheating but not as brazenly as before. People are seeing that Pep is a good manager but not a genius; most of his success is due to the money he has spent.
Remove just a couple of components from Pep's teams and they become quite ordinary. No sweeper / ball playing goalkeeper? It's a dud. The loss of a top quality DM who can cleverly institute the tactical foul? It's a dud.
Look at his first season managing City back in 2016. With a squad still fundamentally better than most in the league he finishes well behind Chelsea and just two points ahead of a work in progress / half mended Liverpool squad that had Simon F***ing Mignolet in goal and Moreno at left back.
Give him a limited squad and he fails. That's why he has always run to the clubs with moneybags upon moneybags because it means he'll never be exposed. He fears the day when he's asked to cook up something from the ingredients he has been given, as opposed from the ones he wants.
The emperor wears no clothes. He is as so many have said a pure fraud.
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