The big-spending outfit have the resources to go toe-to-toe with their rivals due to owner Sheikh Mansour's bottomless wealth. According to The Guardian, important figures within the club have acknowledged that the lack of top-level European football has dropped them out of the running to prise the Spaniard from Liverpool.
City finished in fifth place in the Premier League last season after they targeted a top-four finish. Torres is understood to only be prepared to leave Merseyside for one of Europe's traditional elite.