"Money" in football has changed. Sure we set a blueprint for things to come - but it was never like this. More so - the narrative and and outlook for players has changed.
When we were at the top and the best team in football, we would still get competition from the other big clubs - Real, Barca, Bayern, Man Utd for our current crop of players signatures, and at times we would see some of our best go to these clubs like Robben, etc.
City aren't like PSG, Real, etc. They are buyers by all means, but they buy to win. They don't care about big names and trying to make them work. They simply care about winning with funds spent. To the point that their second team would be considered more talented than nearly every other first team in the league.
I disagree with Pep and KDB leaving. They'll be just as good. They'll be the reason rule changes are brought in due to such long running success. And they'll never get pulled up for their "spending".