Man City chief speaks for first time since club pulled out the race to sign Rice

Manchester City chief Ferran Soriano has opened up about West Ham's decision to decline their offer for midfielder Declan Rice.

Pep Guardiola's side were in the race to sign the England international from West Ham - but withdrew once it became clear Rice was set for a £105m move to Arsenal.

Man City CEO Soriano believes that the club are well placed for transfer business, and will only conduct 'well thought out' purchases.

Speaking at the announcement of a new sponsorship with OKX, a cryptocurrency firm, reported by the Daily Mirror, Soriano said: 'If you look at what we did at the start of this project, there was a need for a lot of changes and investment - but not anymore.

'If you look at what we have done in the last five years, our level of investment in new players is well thought out.

'We are not the top net-spenders of last year or the last three or five years. We have a platform where we know what to do and we can do it with time and intelligence. When we don't like a deal, we walk away and we don't panic.'

He noted that their stoicism has allowed them to flourish, as Man City stick by the same managers, as Man United have made multiple changes in the past decade.

Soriano said: 'How many coaches did we have in the last 10 years? Two - Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola. How many football directors? One - Txiki Begiristian.

'Part of the success is to be consistent and resilient and not panicking when we lose. I've seen at City when going to breakfast the morning after the games we have lost and it’s like a funeral and people are really p***ed off.

'That's when you have to show resilience but also intelligence to think ‘today is not the day to make decisions.’ This is part of the reason why we have been successful in the last decade.'

OKX will feature on Manchester City's sleeves and training kit, as part of a three-year deal covering both the men's and women's teams.