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MANUEL PELLEGRINI has stressed that he believes Manchester City’s summer deals for Frank Lampard and Bacary Sagna were conducted correctly in response to recent comments from Arsène Wenger.
Over the last few days Wenger, whose Arsenal side play City at Wembley tomorrow in the Community Shield, has questioned both signings.

Lampard has headed to the Etihad Stadium on loan until January from New York City FC – Manchester City’s American sister outfit, who the 36-year-old England international signed for earlier this summer.

The Premier League champions were hit with sanctions from Uefa for breaching financial fair play rules in May, and when asked about the Lampard deal, Wenger said: “Is it a way to get around the fair-play? I don’t know.” The Frenchman has also subsequently suggested that Sagna’s move to City this summer after his Arsenal contract finished was “agreed a long time ago”.

However, asked yesterday if he was happy that everything as far as the Lampard and Sagna deals had been done correctly, Pellegrini said: “I think so.”

The Chilean added that he was “surprised” by Wenger’s comments, adding: “I think as managers we have enough problems with our own teams to be talking about other teams.

“The only thing I can say is that we have important restrictions about the amount of money we can spend, and Frank Lampard was a free player – we didn’t spend any money in bringing him from New York City to Manchester City.”

Pellegrini is baffled by any negative reaction there has been to Lampard’s move, including from Chelsea fans upset to see him at a Premier League rival after 13 years at Stamford Bridge. “I don’t understand the reaction of Chelsea fans who say he is a traitor,” Pellegrini said.

“The problem was not that Frank Lampard did not want to sign another contract with Chelsea – Chelsea didn’t want him any more. He is a competitive player, he will be important for our team and we didn’t spend any money on him, so the rules of financial fair play don’t have any relation with Lampard.”

City will be without eight players for tomorrow’s match against Arsenal at Wembley. Lampard is deemed not ready to feature yet following his arrival on loan, and the same applies to fellow new signing Sagna, along with Sergio Agüero, Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis, Fernandinho and the captain Vincent Kompany – six City players who were involved in the knockout stages of the World Cup.

Alvaro Negredo is the other man to miss out due to his foot injury, but there could be debuts for two new recruits in the goalkeeper Willy Caballero and the midfielder Fernando. —The Guardian