Today's Edition
Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)
An end-of-the-season review by Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of Manchester City club as well as the parent body City Football Group (CFG), recorded last week and released to the media now, is a useful watch for those who are debating financial fair play conditions in England for some years.
Al Mubarak discussed the exploits in England for the Premier League winners for a record fourth successive time, as well as the runners-up in FA Cup this year. They also went up to the quarter-finals in the Champions League, while the women's team in the Premier League ended up second to Chelsea only after the final round's action.
Amid all these, the remarkable run of Girona in Spain's La Liga has gone mostly unnoticed. Until January they were in contention to even win the league, dominated only by the Big Two – Real Madrid and Barcelona – and Atletico Madrid to an extent.
One of 13 clubs under the Abu Dhabi United Group-owned CFG and brought over in 2017, Girona ended up a creditable third, ahead of Atletico, while Real Madrid could win the title when Girona beat Barcelona 4-2 . "I think Girona FC personifies this group and how a club can be well managed to the point to substantially outperform," Al Mubarak said in the review conducted in the UAE capital.
"They have the 16th highest wage bill in La Liga, 16th out of 20 and they went head-to-head with Real Madrid and Barcelona until the end. And they finished third. They made it to this Champions League for the first time in their history after coming from the Second Division just a couple of years ago. It is extraordinary."
Al Mubarak also touched on their franchise in the United States – New York City – in Major League Soccer. "We always been very, very committed to US soccer, building New York City football team to what it is today. We've had a great partnership with the New York Yankees.
"It's a big investment, and it's an investment that's well justified for the fans. Playing in Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, while great for the last couple of years, is not a sustainable solution. The solution was always going to be a purpose-built football club for the team. New York is going to have its football stadium, and it's going to be fantastic."
What is sustainable, according to Al Mubarak, is the pipeline of talent and transfer market activity at Manchester City, the flagship club, which is fighting a counter legal battle currently with the Premier League.
The latter introduced a rule set called "Associated Party Transactions" in 2021 but revised it in February 2024 with more stringent terms that have cause Manchester City bosses to raise a flag.
"It's very sustainable," said Al Mubarak on the players in and out from Manchester. "We are very careful and keeping that squad always fresh with a mixture of new players coming in, players leaving, and then, a boost from the academy. That tells you everything. We always maintain that balance of players leaving and then players coming in and obviously players coming up from within the academy."
Phil Foden proved to be a perfect example of someone coming from the academy as the home-grown talent is ripe and harvested a haul of 19 goals and eight assists from 35 matches in the Premier League this season alone. He was adjudged the best player of the season by the league, and Al Mubarak reserved some praise for him.
"I've had the privilege of, of watching Phil develop from being an eight year old, young player at the Academy. And as he has grown, from one age group to another within the academy and then making it all the way to the first team; I think throughout that journey, it was clear to all of us where Phil was going.
"It was always about giving him the right environment and ecosystem and the right development framework around him to help him grow to what he is today – arguably one of the most decorated English football players ever."
