Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola claims Champions League opponents Borussia Dortmund pay agents huge sums to secure Europe's best young talent.
German club Dortmund have recruited some of the continent's finest fledglings in recent seasons, including Norway star Erling Braut Haaland from RB Salzburg, English midfielder Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City while they also prised forward Jadon Sancho away from City.
Guardiola's comments come after Haaland's agent, Mino Raiola, met La Liga clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid last week to discuss a potential summer move for the 20 year old.
Ahead of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg, Guardiola said: "If any one person in the city of Manchester knows Borussia Dortmund, it's me. About the culture of that club, the way they play.
"I will not find one single player at Dortmund without quality.
"They spent a lot of money on young players and pay a lot of money to agents to bring these players there because they have an incredible quality."
Ranked: the world's most valuable young footballers
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25) Rennes' Belgian forward Jeremy Doku is the 25th most valuable young player, according to CIES Football Observatory, at £27.5m (36.3m). AFP -
24) Sergino Dest of Barcelona, £27.8m. Getty -
23) Pedri of Barcelona, £28.3m. Getty -
22) Moise Kean of Paris Saint-Germain, £31.2m. Getty -
21) Wesley Fofana of Leicester City, £33.2m. Getty -
20) Pedro Neto of Wolverhampton Wanderers, £34.3m. Getty -
19) Ozan Kabak of Schalke, £35m. Getty -
18) Manchester United's Brandon Williams, £36.4m. Getty -
17) Monaco's French defender Benoit Badiashile, £40.2m. AFP -
16) Lille's Canadian forward Jonathan David, £43.6m. AFP -
15) Jude Bellingham of Dortmund, £44.5m. Getty -
14) Chelsea's English midfielder Callum Hudson-Odoi, £47.1m. AFP -
13) Villarreal's Japanese midfielder Takefusa Kubo, £48.4m. AFP -
12) Vinicius Junior of Madrid, £58.5m. Getty -
11) Eduardo Camavinga of Rennes, £61.5m. AFP -
10) Rodrygo of Real Madrid, £69.9m. AFP -
9) Manchester City's English midfielder Phil Foden, £70.3m. AFP -
8) Juventus' Swedish forward Dejan Kulusevski, £75.1m. AFP -
7) Arsenal's English striker Bukayo Saka, £95.8m. AFP -
6) Ferran Torres of Manchester City, £106m. Getty -
5) Mason Greenwood of Manchester United, £115.3m. Getty -
4) Erling Braut Haaland of Borussia Dortmund, £120.3m. Getty -
3) Barcelona's Ansu Fati, £122.7m. Getty -
2) Jadon Sancho of Dortmund, £125.6m. Getty -
1) Bayern Munich's Canadian star Alphonso Davies is rated the most valuable young player in world football by the CIES Football Observatory, at £180.4 million ($243m). Getty
Haaland was linked with a move to City after Sergio Aguero announced he would leave the English club at the end of the season, but Guardiola has cooled speculation by saying they were unlikely to prioritise a new striker.
Guardiola's side lead the Premier League by 14 points and host Dortmund on Tuesday.
They are also due to face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals and play Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final later this month.
