For all the talk of the DIC’s (Dubai International Capital) interest in Liverpool over the last couple of years, no one expected Abu Dhabi to enter the fold and snap up Manchester City at the start of September for around $400m, promising to make it the ‘biggest club in the Premier League’.
Does the deal struck by the club’s previous owner Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai prime minister, with the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment (ADUG), herald a new age of Arab interest in English football clubs?
With money behind the club, manager Mark Hughes is free to splash out on big signings. Brazilian stars Jo and Robinho are examples of some of the talent the club has been able to lure to English shores now it has the financial backing.
At the end of September Khaldoun Al Mubarak was appointed chairman of Manchester City, as ADUG’s new representative on the board of the football club. A leading international business figure from Abu Dhabi, Al Mubarak has vast experience of running major projects.
He currently runs one of the world’s largest investment and development organisations, state-owned Mubadala Development Company, which manages assets of around $8bn including microchip manufacturer AMD and Italian car maker Ferrari.
Manchester City’s future had been uncertain following legal problems faced in Thailand by Shinawatra, who stays on as honorary president of the club without any administrative responsibilities.
Follow us on
