Alexi Lalas takes swipe at Pep Guardiola as Man City dumped from Champions League

 Former U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) defender turned FOX Sports analyst Alexi Lalas has taken a less than subtle swipe at Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola.

During City’s brutal 3-1 loss at Real Madrid on Wednesday, Lalas mocked the Spaniard on X. “Let me guess, Pep needs more money?” Lalas tweeted. This came shortly after he heaped praise on French forward Kylian Mbappe after scoring his second of three goals on the night, posting simply: “MMMbappe...part deux.”

Lalas’ dig at Guardiola came just weeks after the British transfer window came to a close when City was once again unafraid to open the purse strings. All in all, City shelled out around $223 million in January alone, signing Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, and Juma Bah.

City’s total spend represented almost half of the Premier League’s total expenditure in January of $459 million. But despite the Manchester club's extensive recruitment, arguably its toughest season to date under Guardiola has largely continued.

But Lalas’ dig was far from the first time City and Guardiola have come under fire for their spending. In fact, following the closer of the recent window, he was forced to defend the spending as a consequence of the team's litany of injuries, rather than any suggested fears of inbound transfer bans related to ongoing investigations from the Premier League regarding 115 alleged financial rule breaches. City denies the rule breaches.

"I do not agree but my words will not convince people that our attributes are just being in a wealthy position," Guardiola said, via ESPN. "In the last five years, we are the last team in the top six for net spend.

"Even after what we have spent in this transfer window, we are away from Chelsea, [Manchester] United, Arsenal, Tottenham. Even from Liverpool. The only reason why is because we sell a lot in the last seasons but even with that I know this club, it is always 'just about the money'.”

In its pursuit of a fifth straight Premier League title, and a seventh in total under Guardiola, City has struggled for the majority of the season. Currently fourth in the table, the team is 17 points behind leader Liverpool - although City has a game in hand.

City has also already been knocked out of the EFL Cup by Tottenham in the Round of 16, although it remains in contention for the FA Cup with a fifth-round tie against Plymouth Argyle scheduled for March 1.

Now knocked out of the Champions League in the playoff stage, this marks the first time Guardiola's players have failed to reach at least the Round of 16 since his arrival and comes just two years after winning the crown for the first time in the club’s history.

City won’t have long to grieve, however, with a crucial Premier League game against high-flying Liverpool coming up on Sunday before a trip to London where it'll face Tottenham on February 26.