Nigel de Jong believes that the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool will not "survive" in the top four of the Premier League unless they match the spending power of Manchester City.
The North West side are renowned for their big-money transfers since billionaire Sheikh Mansour took over the club three years ago.
"You just have to look at Liverpool and Arsenal," The Mirror quotes De Jong as saying. "They have lost what I call their subscriptions to a place in the top four. They now have severe competition from other clubs.
"First, it came from Chelsea. Now we are a competitor too. Arsenal and Liverpool are forced to consider making new signings to strengthen their teams.
"They can't survive in the top four with a modest transfer policy or just a couple of ordinary signings."
Despite City facing a degree of criticism over their spending policy, the Netherlands international believes that it has been good for football.
"If City had not started this development project at Eastlands, the European transfer market would be dead now," he added.
"We are creating a bigger gap between the bigger and smaller clubs in the league. But the big advantage is that the public get to see an incredibly high level of football each week.''
Roberto Mancini's side sit top of the Premier League with a five-point lead over title holders Manchester United.
