Posted on 09/02/2008 11:42:59 PM PDT by L.A.Justice
LONDON: Manchester City's only distinction in British football is its long-term tenancy at the lower end of the league tables. But that has not stopped one of the richest Arab groups from buying out its ownership, making it perhaps the richest club on the planet.
The sale catapults un-rated City to the top of the super-rich British club league, hitherto dominated by Chelsea and Manchester United. It also sparks off a war among the moneybag club owners as already evidenced on Monday when millions of pounds were spent by these clubs on a single day to sign in famous footballers.
It was announced Monday that former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has sold the club to the Abu Dhabi United Group (Adug), for 210 million pounds (over $375 million). The deal was signed in Abu Dhabi Sunday. Shinawatra is facing an in absentia trial for corruption charges at home and lives in exile in London.
Adug is fronted by Sulaiman al-Fahim, a 31-year-old businessman, property mogul and reality-television show host who is ranked 16th in Arabian Business Magazine's list of 100 most powerful Arabs.
His personal wealth is said to be 10 times that of Russian multi-billionaire Roman Abramovich, who stunned British football with his 600-million-pound buyout of, and investment in, Chelsea Football Club.
Al-Fahim is the chief executive of Hydra Properties, a company set up only two years ago but which has already signed more than 1 billion pounds worth of contracts in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Mexico and around the world. A flamboyant character, he is regularly seen in Hollywood and was recently pictured alongside Leonardo di Caprio.
Al-Fahim said Monday he had not put up the money himself but was a figurehead for members of the UAE's royal family, whose riches are even greater, and that the aim was to establish City among the world's elite clubs. “Our goal is very simple, to make Manchester City the biggest club in the Premier League,” he said.
True to his words, the club wasted little time in flexing its new financial muscle, tabling almost 100 million pounds in bids for new players, including an audacious attempt to snatch the Tottenham Hotspur forward Dimitar Berbatov from Manchester United's near-certain grasp. Berbatov finally went to United in a 30.75 million pound deal.
However, Chelsea's Abramovich tasted his first defeat in the player buying contest when Al-Fahim outbid the Russian offer to buy Brazilian Robinho from Real Madrid for a British record price of 32.75 million pounds.
Monday was a day of high-stakes negotiations. Having lost Berbatov to United, City made an opening bid of 28.5 million pounds for Robinho as well as contacting Valencia to see whether 40 million pounds would persuade them to sell David Villa and offering in excess of 10 million pounds for another striker, Stuttgart's Mario Gómez.
Valencia and Stuttgart did not want to sell, and Berbatov always had his heart set on Old Trafford, but Real were willing to do business provided City offered another 4 million pounds. As Al Fahim told The Guardian: “Money is not a worry to my board.”
City's executive chairman Garry Cook predicted great things for City. “Can we be as big, or bigger, than Manchester United? Yes. Can we win the Premier League? Yes. Can we win the Champions League? Yes. It might take 10 years, maybe even longer. But we will.”
With Robinho already in its ranks, City will be watched by the football world on Sep 13 when it plays Chelsea, which is also being seen as a shadow fight for dominance between Al-Fahim and Abramovich.
Al-Fahim will be present on the day of the match, when City supporters are expected to turn up in Arab headgear to celebrate the club's new-found wealth.
I am following Man City team ever since it tried to get Ronaldhino from Barcelona...
We in the US should feel fortunate that the Arabs are not interested in American Football.
I know that the Mancester United fans have continuously bashed and obstructed the american owner, Malcolm Glazer, no matter how successful the team has performed and trophys they have brought home, including the impressive feat of winning the “european double” (UEFA Champions League and Domestic league title) in a single season in 2007-2008.
British have knicknamed Chelsea, Chelski, because the owner is Russian, and given him pretty much the same treatment as Glazer.
I’m sure many Man City fans will be happy the team now has such deep pockets, but overall, the arabs will get the Glazer treatment as well.
The Arabs and Russians are more occupied with their first conquest, Europe, for now. The capitulation by Germany and France as Russia streamrolls Georgia speaks volumes of what the future holds for Europe with their new Bolshevik and Arab masters calling the shots.
I’ve also heard that the ruler of Dubai wants to buy Liverpool FC.
Apparently they just wanted the Chrysler building....
Football fans tend to frown on foreign ownership, but what they really hate is foreign owners who know nothing of the game and see the whole thing as merely a business opportunity, turn the club from the richest in the world to one of the most heavily indebted and price many of it’s ordinary fans out of the market by raising ticket prices and the number of private boxes. That’s the reason they hate Malcolm Glazer...
However, it seems that Sir Alex doesn’t have to look over his shoulder every time he decides to buy some player...In another words, Glazer is not forcing Sir Alex to take players he does not want...
Same cannot be said about other teams...West Ham manager just quit because the board kept on making deals without consulting him.
I guess Glazer should be praised for letting Sir Alex do his job without too much interference...
I’ve heard City is interested in luring Christian Ronaldo away from United.
Yet.
I’ve heard Hicks wants to buy full ownership of Liverpool.
And he intends to sell the Texas Rangers to raise the cash.
You might know who the prospective buyer of the Rangers will be. He currently lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Sounds like a nice gig for his retirement.
I think also Nolan Ryan will have a stake in the team along with President Bush, that’s why Hicks brought him in.
I read that too...It is simply silly...Ronaldo wants to go to Real Madrid eventually...He won’t go to Man City...
It is possible for an athlete to refuse to go to certain team even if the team offers him tons of money...
My impression is that many Liverpool fans would be happy if Hicks and Gillett sold the team to some guy from Dubai...
It’s crazy how high these salaries are getting. And now the Russkie oil barons are getting in on the action with teams like Zenit St Petersburg. The salaries are going to spiral out of control. I really fear for the sport that all of the talent will be concentrated in the hands of few teams, and the while Champions League will increase in popularity, many other domestic sides will fall by the wayside.
Soccer is the #1 sport in the middle-east and the Premiership league is the most popular. You got arabs with deep pockets and looking for lots of corporate tie ins.
One of the Abu Dhabi wealth funds bought a 5% stake in Ferrari and are building a new F1 road course racetrack on an island there. Ferrari’s f1 cars and drivers hats have that wealth funds name on it now.
I’m sure Man City will be used to promote a lot of Abu Dhabi businesses. It’s smart for them to be diversifying their economies and globalizing their names.
Obviously I am from salford Manchester hence the username
I am a red but when Glazer took over it left a sour taste in my mouth.
Days of the blue collar worker going to watch his local team are gone now the clubs are whored out to the highest bidder, bidders who have no interest of the clubs history
exactly
I have been to all over Europe watching united, best times though the 80’s when football and going away to games was brilliant
sadly football has become a joke , a day out for day trippers who do want to munch on the prawn butties and get to the megastore
the take over has left me with a sour taste and I really don’t follow a sport i treated as a religion anymore
No way can I go and take my two sons with me to watch football because Mr padraig and his mates have taken a day trip thus forcing the locals out and away from their club
I could go on and on as a lot of mates have quit too back in salford because of how football has gone
O and football fans have no rights so when I hear the Pakistani moaning about being searched then maybe he should see what it’s like going to a game and getting wacked for nothing
football is not what it used to be
it is now getting over took with a bunch of prima donna’s who go down at the slightest knock and cry over it
Football is also a sport for rich men to play against each other, rich mans sports or hobby
makes me sick knowing from when I grew up ,memories of queueing up at the stretford, paying cash on the turn-style having a bit of a tussle with the away fans and letting them know they are away etc have gone
sad very sad which is why I have no problem if united stopped winning and the glory hunters would do one and leave our club alone
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