Ronaldinho was another with Eto'o unfairly lumped in with the Brazilian as someone who didn't always behave in a professional manner.So, Txiki/Soriano, you fired Mancini, you will hire Pellegrini and these are two very important parts of building a football club in the mould you desire. Barca had a once-in-50 years crop of youth players come along in a very short space of time which certainly helped Txiki. The style, the personality, the potential. It will probably be an expensive deal and he need to get this right.Begiristain has likely chosen his manager, chose his academy staff and the plans for upgrading facilities is well in place. Messi and Guardiola were growing in influence at the club and it was decided that Ibra's style and personality weren't a good fit to the holistic environment at the club.If you are going to spent £61m plus/including Eto'o, who was brilliant, you have to make sure that everything is right. A fan told me Txiki probably lost his job over the signing. It didn't look right at the time considering the footballing direction Barca were heading in, and it doesn;t look right now. Luckily, Begiristain's faults when buying defenders may not harm City too much. We have 29 players on the list and this is my highly opinionated success or fail ranking. This will be his ship, transfers his responsibility.The big question is: What is Begiristain's record like?Before we start it is worth remembering Barcelona had a very unique system in place during Txiki's time. Txiki Begiristain FM 2020 Profile, Reviews, Txiki Begiristain in Football Manager 2020, Director of Football in Man City, Director of Football, Spain, Spanish, Txiki Begiristain fm 20 attributes, current ability (ca), potential ability (pa), stats, ratings, salary, traits. But the hit-and-miss transfer record that plagued Begiristain during some of Barcelona’s most glorious years has reared its ugly head again.That deal took Begiristain’s transfer spending to £658.58m. Begiristain is now looking to implement a more continental management structure going forward. We also saw some cheap depth players who went on to play a lot of games for Barca, so kudos there. His history in the transfer market has not been without problems though.Manchester City Trio Will Not Be Involved In Any Messi TransferBlues Stars Will Stay Despite Interest in Argentine StarScott Sees Red As Man City Women Defeated Community ShieldManchester City and Lionel Messi Agree Personal Terms - ReportThe Real Obstacle to Lionel Messi Joining Manchester CityAs Messi deal nears, only one thing can hold it up. He was excellent at finding low cost squad depth, his forward signings were mostly good and he didn't need to buy in midfield due to the existing talent at the club and in the pipeline. It is almost five years since Barcelona’s former director of football Begiristain took up the same role at But despite the arrival of Guardiola 12 months ago – and a transfer spend that has smashed through the £500million barrier – it could be claimed that 52-year-old Txiki’s main qualification for the job is that he is one of Pep’s closest friends.Roberto Mancini’s City were reigning champions when Begiristain arrived in October 2012.They have since won another Premier League title and lifted the League Cup twice under Manuel Pellegrini.And there was also the promise of a first appearance in the 2016 Champions League semi-finals, before Pellegrini was eased aside for Guardiola.Compared to what fans had been forced to endure in the three decades before Sheikh Mansour’s 2008 takeover, the blue side of Manchester are living the dream.But the bottom line is that City have underachieved since Begiristain was asked to bring the Barca model to the Etihad.Manchester United and Arsenal have both lifted more silverware over the last three seasons – years when they were supposed to be in crisis.Champions League qualification has been City’s salvation. Over the same period, Begiristain has raised just £161.35m in sales – leaving a net outlay of £507.33m. The net spend in the Spanish director's five years is now through the £500m barrier but the Blues have underachieved in that time, and are stuck with lots of expensive players they cannot sellGet the FREE Mirror Football newsletter by email with the day's key headlines and transfer news Txiki Begiristain now has half-a-billion reasons to pray that Pep Guardiola delivers on his reputation as the world’s best manager. MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 19: (l-r) Txiki Begiristain the Director of Football at Manchester City and Ferran Soriano the CEO look on prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Norwich City at Etihad Stadium on May 19, 2013 in Manchester, England. Ibra is a brilliant player and was at the time of signing, but the style didn't fit. But, he got the biggest transfer of his career wrong and so much money was wasted on trying find quality defenders in the mid to expensive range.A lot of money was wasted in the mid 2000's when quality defenders were available if you could afford them, instead Txiki gambled on mid price range defenders and prospects and save for Pique, none of those signings worked out long term, as was his aim. Begiristain's folly when buying young players was saved by the best youth crop in 50 years.To conclude: Begiristain had some very good things going for him as Sporting director. Manchester City chief Txiki Begiristain has joined in the tributes to David Silva and promised him he will never be forgotten at the Etihad.. Silva will leave the former Premier League champions at the end of this season following a decade of wonderful service to the club.. Aguero is going to need some help. It was an awful lot of money to waste.Pricey Defenders - Begiristain had, throughout his time at Barca, continually bought defenders. Txiki made “enquiry” to sign 21-goal ace for Man City, could be “bigger than Ronaldo” – Report. ... with Atletico now hoping the triple-figure sum will eventually be worth it. The Ibrahimovic signing was a criminal mistake. Player recruitment is vital next step, so what does the track record look like?Let's break some of these signings down position by position.Some good, some bad. Conclusion. Clichy needs some help and I would expect another center back may be brought in as cover/long term prospect.City need help in midfield. Clubs know City are desperate to get rid, so are playing a waiting game, knowing there will be a bargain towards the end of the window.”Successes? This was a hard task, not made any easier by SBnation, but I think it was a worthwhile one. I am just not sure if Txiki did his due diligence on this one. The cheaper one's were fine, but my oh my did he waste some money when the cheque showed sums of over £6m.
Yet, in a seller’s market, City are practically having to give players away.“The Premier League has never been so awash with money, but West Ham are getting England’s best goalkeeper for free and only having to pay half of his wages. It was a bad mistake.