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Uefa have confirmed Manchester City will face no spending or squad restrictions this summer after the club met the requirements of financial fair play.

The Blues were handed a cap of £49million net spending last summer, which manager Manuel Pellegrini has pointed to as one reason for their failure to retain the Premier League title.

They also had their Champions League squad numbers cut to 21, which ultimately forced them to drop Stevan Jovetic from it in January, following the signing of Wilfried Bony.

To avoid a repeat transgression, City had to keep their debt down to around £14.4million for the financial year 2013-14. The books showed they lost £23million, but £16million of that was the fine Uefa levied, which does not count against them – so they come within the limits.

Uefa's accountants will have to verify the figures, but that is expected to be a formality.

The news leaves City free for a big summer in the transfer market, and they are pressing ahead with bids for Paul Pogba, Kevin de Bruyne and one or two more.

But we are unlikely to see a repeat of the splurges of recent summers, as City have to ensure their spending does not cause them to fall foul of the same rules.

City also expect to fall well within the limit of £7million debt for 2014-15 – in fact, for the first time since the takeover the Blues expect to turn a profit.