Manchester City were given the green light to spend heavily on Raheem Sterling and their other top targets after Uefa removed its restrictions on transfers and wages imposed as part of its Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

City’s second offer of up to £40 million for the England forward was rejected, but the club will be in a stronger position to raise their bid closer to Liverpool’s asking price of £50 million. Manuel Pellegrini is also confident of being able to sign Kevin de Bruyne, who is likely to cost £35 million, despite Wolfsburg wanting to offer their Belgium midfielder a new contract. The City manager has not given up hope of bringing in Paul Pogba, the Juventus midfielder.

Uefa’s restrictions curtailed City’s transfer spending