Mancini wants summer of spending

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini hopes to be allowed to spend big this summer in pursuit of further success.

Mancini wants to add the Champions League to this season's Barclays Premier League title victory. City have spent heavily since their takeover by Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour in 2008 to establish a position of prominence in the English game. Chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak has said there is now no need to spend the lavish sums of previous summers, because the squad is already strong, but Mancini still wants more top names. Mancini told BBC Sport: "Barcelona and Real Madrid every year buy two or three players and spend a lot of money. I think for Manchester City it will be the same. "We need to improve. We need to have the strength to play Champions League and Premier League."