Man City prospered under Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed’s leadership
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed looks on during the English Premier League football match. File/ AFP
Manchester City were confirmed as Premier League champions for the fifth time in six seasons on Saturday without even having to kick a ball after second-placed Arsenal's challenge ended in defeat away at Nottingham Forest.
It is City's seventh Premier League title since they were bought by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, in 2008 and they are now just two wins away from completing a treble only previously achieved by Manchester United in 1999.
Next September, His Highness Sheikh Mansour will complete 15 years of acquiring Manchester City, which was a historic shift for the club, which was founded in 1880. However, 143 years from birth, it was divided into two parts, before and after Emirati ownership.
Manchester City won 11 titles from 1880 to 2008, and from 2008 to 2023 18 titles, so the club shortened time and distance at a record speed, as Sheikh Mansour promised on September 23, 2008 in his first speech to the fans, on the occasion of the completion of the acquisition of the club.
Sheikh Mansour said in his first message, 14 years ago: “A lot has been written about the Manchester City purchase deal over the past few weeks, and it gives me great pleasure to inform you that the negotiations related to the deal have been completed, and the ownership of the club was transferred yesterday, corresponding to the twenty-third of September. At the end of the signing ceremony, it is with great pleasure that I tell you who we are and what we plan to do."
Sheikh Mansour continued, “I am pleased to begin my speech by thanking you individually for your good feelings that you have informed us of since announcing our desire to buy the club.
“These attitudes left us with the greatest impact, and we were able to reach the conviction that you are the greatest supporter in the world. And we can fully understand that it takes some time to build a team that can maintain its presence among the big four in the first league, and record honourable achievements in the European championships.
“We are determined to bring in the best players in the world, and we also hope to see the formation of the new youth academy. We are now building an organisational structure for the future, not just a team that includes some stars.”
Sheikh Mansour confirmed in his message, "We will raise the club to the level that we believe it can reach and which you dream of reaching as one of its fans."
Indeed, all that the owner of the club promised was fulfilled, as he won all the English championships. It is also the dominant club, as well as featuring the most prominent players in the world, and the best coach, Pep Guardiola.
