Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has denied their spending power guarantees success.
For many, the problem is that City's spending threatens to take them so far clear of almost every other club that meaningful competition becomes impossible.
Guardiola uses his own Champions League successes with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 to reject that theory as well.
"There are no guarantees," he said. "You can win with different squads, different players and in different situations.
"At Barcelona, I had the best player I ever seen in my life, Lionel Messi, in the academy. We won the Champions League twice with seven players from the academy at zero costs. Each club has its own reality."