Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott says the Cityzens must qualify for the Champions League in order to attract the best players this summer.
City’s top four hopes suffered a setback after a1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
They are currently in fourth place on 47 points in the league table.
For the first time under Pep Guardiola, qualification for the Champions League is under serious threat.
City have not missed out on Champions League qualification since the 2009-10 season.
They have qualified for the tournament with relative ease in seven of Guardiola’s eight full seasons at Etihad Stadium.
The only exception came during Guardiola’s first season in England, when City sealed Champions League qualification on the final day of the 2016-17 season by finishing third.
Lescott, a two-time Premier League winner at City, said top players would only join his former club if Champions League football is confirmed.
“If you want top, top players, Man City need Champions League football,” Lescott told TNT Sports.
“Elite players need Champions League football.”
A failure to qualify for the Champions League would also damage the club’s finances.
City earned about £90m as they went out of the Champions League at the quarter-finals stage last season.
Their play-off exit to Real Madrid this season means they stand to earn about £28m less, with an estimated £64m windfall this time.
But failure to qualify for the competition for next season would be far more costly.
Rivals Manchester United recently announced their quarterly results for the three months ending 2024, according to BBC Sport.
Revenue was down 12% – a fall of over £25m – after the club failed to qualify for the Champions League and entered the Europa League instead.
Over the course of a year, the cost of being outside the Champions League can cost clubs about £100m in lost revenue.
