Gary Neville has claimed a star player will always choose Manchester City last if they have a straight choice between the big clubs in the Premier League . The former Manchester United defender believes his former club , Chelsea and Arsenal would be a preferable option now for a big star looking to switch to the Premier League . Neville wrote in his Telegraph column that should a player such as Paul Pogba or Mats Hummels decide on a move to England , they are unlikely to select the Etihad as their destination - now that Manuel Pellegrini 's side have been reined in by Financial Fair Play . Gary Neville believes Manchester City would now struggle to attract top players thanks to financial restrictions . Players such as Borussia Dortmund 's Mats Hummels ( left ) and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba would prefer to go to one of Manchester City 's Premier League rivals , according to Neville . Neville believes Manchester City need to be bold and take on UEFA 's FFP regulations . 'Unless City are bold and decide to take on Uefa ’ s Financial Fair Play regulations , they will find it difficult to compete with United , Chelsea and Arsenal for the players I believe could make the difference in next season ’ s title race , ' said Neville . 'If any of the top four is able to add Gareth Bale , Morgan Schneiderlin and/or Paul Pogba and Mats Hummels to their squad this summer , they would instantly become front-runners to win the Premier League next year . 'There will be an intense fight between all of the top four clubs to secure the best players , but if that battle takes place on an even playing field , I don ’ t see how City can come out on top . 'The landscape has changed since City were able to blow everybody out of the water by paying big fees and big wages to sign the likes of Carlos Tevez , Yaya Toure , Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri . ' Manchester City have previously manager to attract the likes of Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez . Manchester United had to blitz the market and sign the likes of Angel di Maria last summer . He added : 'FFP has reined City back in and United and Arsenal have upped the ante by spending big themselves and raising the ceiling of their pay structures . 'When United were faced with the Doomsday scenario of being out of the Champions League last summer , they had to blitz the market to sign the likes of Angel di Maria , simply because they had to throw money at the problem they found themselves in . 'And that is big issue facing City this summer -- United , Chelsea and Arsenal are now all capable of taking them on in the transfer market and , if a player has a straight choice between the four clubs , City will come fourth every time . ' Manchester City travel to Old Trafford to face United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon . Pellegrini 's side sit a point and a place behind their cross-town rivals in fourth .
Financial City Play has resulted in Manchester City 's ability to improve . City Neville says big players would prefer their Premier League rivals . City spending can no longer keep other teams out of the water . see our Manchester United vs Manchester City combined XI here . CLICK HERE for all the latest premier League news .