I'm not sure how smart they really are, they still haven't won the CL and Real won it 3 times in a row, this despite them spending a monumental amount, Chelsea did it, Man U won it, Liverpool won it but City haven't or indeed got anywhere near the final.
Yes they've won the league, but in reality with the money and squad they have it's not that hard, they've bought the right players of course but they can basically buy anyone they want so it's not that hard.