Match Insight

Saturday, May 4, 2019

Manchester City and Etihad Airways - The 400 Million Pound Deal that Transformed the Club

The 2007-2008 Premier League season could not finish fast enough for Manchester City. The final match was a nine goal thriller at Middlesbrough where unfortunately City conceited eight. In those days their hated local rivals are Manchester United, viewed City with disdain and disrespect rather than as an equal and saved their energy for teams like Liverpool and Leeds United. Behind the scenes, things were even worse. While City fans were excited at the start of the 2007 2008 season at the prospect of new tie owner Texan Shinawatra's promises of big spending and success. The investment in the likes of Rolando Bianchi, Felipe Caicedo and Alana didn't prove to be successful and the money from the new owner came from unreliable sources. The acquisition of the club by Sheikh Manso in September 2008 saved City. A large proportion of capital was spent on the club. This put the other clubs at unease. These established clubs put pressure on Platini the UEFA president to introduce some method of reducing this act of unchecked spending. After some time the UEFA Financial Fair Play rules were established.


Eyebrows had been raised in relation to City's deal with  Etihad Airways. The agreement was for 10 years at an estimated value of 400 million pounds. In 2014 a forty nine million pound fine was imposed and sanctions set. In 2015 under pressure from a series of lawsuits from unhappy clubs, UEFA relaxed the FFP rules this has allowed the likes of City and PSG to spend money more freely. 
Since 2011, the club has won 3 Premier League titles. So in hindsight, the 4 million pound deal which has been renegotiated since its original signing is probably about right for Pep Guardiola's team in the current market.

No comments: