September 2008 Manchester City bought by Abu Dhabi investors On a dramatic transfer deadline day, the Abu Dhabi United Group (Adug) agrees a £200m takeover of Manchester City. The group, led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan – a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family – buys 90% of the club from Thaksin Shinawatra. The new owners make an immediate impact with the £32.5m signing of Robinho from Real Madrid before the transfer window closes.
Having signed Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta before the takeover, Mark Hughes adds Nigel de Jong (£16m) and Craig Bellamy (£14.5m) in January 2009 but City only finish 10th. In the summer window, Gareth Barry (£12m), Joleon Lescott (£22m) and Emmanuel Adebayor (£25m) arrive. City’s move to take former Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez (£25.5m) – complete with provocative poster – leads Sir Alex Ferguson to dub them “noisy neighbours”.
Mark Hughes fails to lead the team up the table and is sacked, replaced by Roberto Mancini. Form improves but City miss out on the top four after a home defeat by Tottenham. In the summer, a number of big names arrive – Yaya Touré, David Silva and Mario Balotelli, costing £24m each, plus James Milner in a deal worth £18m.
In August 2010, Sheikh Mansour attends his first (and still only) City home game, a 3-0 victory over Liverpool. Roberto Mancini and his scarf arrive in Manchester in 2009 ition of Edin Dzeko (£27m) in January 2011, Mancini is able to steer City to a third-place finish and a first Champions League campaign. In the FA Cup, Touré’s winner stuns United in the semi-final and the Ivorian strikes again in the final against Stoke.
Victory ends a 35-year wait for a major trophy – and marks the end of an infamous Old Trafford banner. Yaya Touré scores the only goal of the as Manchester City beat Stoke City in the FA Cup final in 2011. Having first been established in September 2009, financial fair play (FFP) rules are introduced by Uefa for the 2011-12 season.
City offer an early test of the new system, announcing a 10-year sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways (the UAE’s national airline) in July 2011. City’s home ground is renamed the Etihad Stadium as part of the deal. With club-record signing Sergio Agüero (£38m) and Samir Nasri (£24m) arriving in the summer of 2011, City emerge as title contenders and thrash United 6-1 at Old Trafford.
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