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Former Aston Villa CEO Christian Purslow has praised Manchester City's summer transfer business, arguing the club's ability to sell players at full value separates them from their Premier League rivals. That experience across multiple clubs at a senior executive level gives his read on Manchester City's commercial transfer strategy considerable weight - and on the evidence of the 2026 summer window, the numbers behind that strategy are striking. Manchester City completed 41 transfers in total across the summer, spending approximately £450.8 million in guaranteed fees while receiving around £302.3 million in return, a net outlay of roughly £148.5 million. That net figure, measured against the volume and calibre of players that arrived at the Etihad Stadium, is the foundation of the argument Purslow was making on deadline day. Purslow: "Man City Are Skilful at Selling for Top Dollar" Speaking on Sky Sports News, Purslow said: "They [Manchester City] do great net business. They spend what it takes to buy players they want, but they're fantastic at selling players for at least £50 million, no other club does that! "Most clubs, when the market knows you don't want a player, he's immediately worth a fraction of players you want to buy. City are skilful at selling for top dollar and that's the difference between them and some of their rivals." The exits alone tell a significant story. Savinho joined Tottenham for up to £85 million. Rodri moved to Barcelona for £65.4 million including add-ons. Tijjani Reijnders departed for Saudi Arabia side Al Qadsiah for £52 million after a single season. Nico Gonzalez was sold to Newcastle for up to £52 million. James Trafford left for Leeds for £40 million plus add-ons. Only Bernardo Silva and John Stones left without a fee, their contracts having expired. Every other significant departure generated a premium return, precisely the pattern Purslow identified. The former Aston Villa CEO also pointed to the structure of Manchester City's squad contracts as a further source of commercial advantage. "They're also good on payment terms," the Englishman added. "City are well known for players who are squad players that make up the 25, they go in on reasonable basic pay, but real bonuses to get them in the first-team. If they don't work, it's easier to sell players with reasonable salary. I think that's part of their secret." The wage structure point is a meaningful one in the context of a summer in which several fringe players were moved on without any suggestion of salary standoffs complicating deals. The sales of Reijnders and Gonzalez, both players who joined City within the last two years and left at significant profit, illustrate the logic Purslow is describing, with neither deal complicated by the kind of wage disparity that typically erodes a player's market value when a club makes clear they are available. What Purslow's Assessment Says About Man City's Transfer Model Under Hugo Viana The summer marked City's first full window under director of football Hugo Viana, who arrived from Sporting CP to replace Txiki Begiristain in 2025 and has overseen a comprehensive remake of the first-team squad in the last 12 months. The scale of that ambition, bringing in Enzo Fernandez for a British record equalling £125 million, Elliot Anderson for £116 million, Ayyoub Bouaddi for €100 million and Iliman Ndiaye for £65 million, would ordinarily carry a crippling net spend, were it not for the outgoing business operating at the levels Purslow described. The ability to command top dollar for departing players, whether they are surplus to requirements or simply no longer aligned with the manager's vision, is not accidental. It is the product of a systematic framework, a scouting operation that identifies re-saleable value and a commercial infrastructure sophisticated enough to find buyers at premium prices in a market that instinctively discounts available players. Purslow, who has negotiated transfers on behalf of some of the largest clubs in England, would know better than most what the alternative looks like and why it matters.