October 2008

No City limits

It’s the deal that rocked the English football world to its heels. Suddenly, the poor relations had done the equivalent of winning the lottery, and life would never be the same again.

The cosy coterie of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal (and ‘me too’ aspirants, Liverpool) now face a new kind of challenge – an oil-backed chequebook that makes Roman Abramovich’s resources look like petty cash.

Manchester City have gone from rags to riches (even by the bloated standards of the English Premiership) now that the club has been taken over for roughly 1.3 billion dirhams by the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment (ADUG).

City immediately signalled an intention to try to lure Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov to Eastlands – on the day that Manchester United were also hoping to land the Bulgarian star.

It had been clear from a spate of recent big spending on stars such as Shaun Wright-Phillips that investment was in the pipeline.

“It is no secret that we have been seeking strategic partnerships for some time but at this stage we cannot say much more for legal reasons,” declared City’s executive chairman Garry Cook.

Another insider, however, called it a great day for the club and revealed that ADUG were intent on making City a genuine rival to the Premiership’s big four with immediate effect and keen too to develop the Sportcity site.

As news of the possible takeover surfaced in the Middle East, a statement was issued by ADUG saying the deal had been completed and that it was a “massive achievement for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi”.
Abu Dhabi-based property developer Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim will represent the new owners in the City boardroom but former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will also keep a seat on the board.
Shinawatra is facing corruption charges after fleeing from his homeland and has refused to return to face trial. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The Abu Dhabi investment will transform the Blues’ financial position and the new major shareholders have already targeted Champions League football in the next two seasons.

Dr Al Fahim, 31, is CEO of a firm called Hydra Properties and describes himself as a “Celebrity Executive Officer”.

He has been photographed with Hollywood stars and is known as the Donald Trump of Abu Dhabi after setting up an Apprentice-style reality TV show.

The statement issued by ADUG said: “By engaging into sport’s investment, Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment aims to reinforce Abu Dhabi’s position as a capital of both sport and economic (development), through supporting the Emirate’s sports and attracting the world’s attention to UAE through this purchase of one of the oldest English clubs.

“The company believes this step will open new horizons for the talented and gifted nationals to develop their skills.”

Al Fahim has pledged to “solve all the club’s problems and clear any pending payments, and will comprehensively support the club by bringing the best football players in the world” to Eastlands.

The new owners immediately specified their season’s goals: Manchester City to finish in the top four of the league and qualify for the Champions League.

They are also studying plans to transform the club’s commercial brand on a global scale, turning City into a household name, with Richard Branson’s Virgin empire an inspiration.

The plans, detailed in an 83-page document called A New Model for Partnership in Football, reveal a strategy that would lead to a significant rebranding and tap into markets as diverse as financial services, fashion, retail, transport, communications and the food industry. The document states that the club should aim “to be the Virgin of Asia and the world”.

Some of the ideas include deals with Tata, the Indian car manufacturer, for “Citycars” and China Mobile for City branded phone cards, a range of new energy drinks by Red Bull called “City Powered, City Energy and City 24/7”, food outlets under the name “City Eating” and a range of credit cards dubbed “Citycard”.

But the first aim is to turn City into a super-power on the field. Al-Fahim has suggested that they could make a £135 million bid for Cristiano Ronaldo in January, and David Gill, the Manchester United chief executive admitted that such an offer for the Portugal forward would have to be discussed.

“I can’t believe he is serious at those levels and we are not looking to sell our best players,” Gill said. “But ultimately, we would discuss any offer with the manager and the owners as that sort of money is very large for one person.

“It would turn the industry upside down, but he mentioned Fernando Torres and Cesc Fàbregas in the same article, so we can remain calm, wait and see what happens over the course of the next months and years and not worry about it too much.”

For Manchester City’s fans the glee is unrestrained. Noel Gallagher, the Oasis songwriter and a lifelong fan of the club, said that for all the talk of an unlikely signing of Ronaldo and winning the league title, there was one aspect of the deal that was particularly sweet.

“It’ll be nice to know that every gallon of petrol that a Manchester United fan buys is going into our transfer kitty,” he said.

There are also strong indications that City’s ground will be renamed Etihad Stadium, sponsored by Abu Dhabi’s national airline.

If City fans don’t already know what the name means, their cross-town rivals will not be slow to act as Arabic interpreters: Etihad translates as “United”.