No doubt if you ask speak to City fans, the vast majority will say this money from the middle-east is welcome. However, I would be surprised if there weren't at least some reservations about the club's soul being bought for 400 million pieces of silver. Manchester City is one of England's very best football institutions - you only had to witness the following they received while playing in football's third tier for evidence of that. What I'm saying is that, should City finally escape the shadow of their Manchester rivals and win the Premier League this year, won't there be a nagging doubt that it took an unprecedented amount of money from abroad to do it?
Great clubs...big clubs are made from decades of collective struggle, pain and effort. They are grown over the decades from a mixture of legend and glory. Manchester United endured tragedy on a massive scale, rebuilt a decimated team and went on to win the European Cup. Liverpool were transformed from Division Two obscurity in the sixties to Shankley's record-breakers. As a thirty-something, my childhood is categorised into Liverpool eras. Keegan, Dalglish, Souness Hughes, Rush, Barnes. I remember events in my young life on the basis of what Liverpool happened to be winning that year. That takes a lot for an avid Newcastle fan to admit. Liverpool and Manchester United created their reputations from within. Not just from within the clubs, but from within their own communities. Arab billionaires or Russian Oligarchs were not heard of and yet we still loved our football. Our football seemed every bit as glamorous and exciting as it does now.
Of course, Manchester City has a rich history of its own, but it is not a history of glorious achievement and eras of domination. It is a history very similar to that of Newcastle United - a history punctuated by the odd season of silverware but hugely contrasting fortunes from year to year. Both clubs have experienced the highs of winning trophies but never dominated an era the way Manchester United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest or Arsenal have. It could even be argued both clubs have domestic fan bases to rival their more illustrious rivals. However, neither have ever realised their undoubted potential. There was something very noble and dignified about those eras of success in Liverpool and the red half of Manchester - they were made in England, not Bahrain or Moscow. They were built on sheer working class determination, pain and desire.
The situation at Manchester City is actually quite farcical when you take time to analyse it. How much money is too much? When will they run out of money? Could Roberto Mancini simply buy and buy the world's top players until he brings success? Is anyone off limits? People may point to the likes of Lionel Messi or many of the South American players who often find it difficult to settle in the north of England. But City could easily offer these players £400,000 a week -then what?
Thankfully, FIFA have seen this situation coming and have moved to implement fair rules that aim to get clubs operating within their means. Eventually, all clubs will be forced to operate on a break-even basis. Say what you like about FIFA, but this could well be their finest hour. I only hope these clubs, in an outrageously false financial position, don't try to muddy the monetary waters by creative accountancy. These billionaires have so much money they simply don't know what to do with it, so now it seems the football club is the playboy toy du jour. My worry is that, when these billionaires get bored, what happens to these clubs? Who picks up the pieces for the inevitable descent to normality? Of course, we know that the only constants in football are the fans and it will on their shoulders to pick their clubs up when the inevitable happens.
As for City, I actually believe they will go on and win the Premier League title this season. Then, perhaps next season the Champion's League. Will that be the point where there is no point? Will Sheikh Mansour consider his experiment complete or will he work at building a long lasting legacy and on growing the club's support base around the world? Whatever happens in the future, I'm sure that, should City achieve glory this season, there will always be a nagging cloud of doubt festering over the Etihad Stadium. The doubt that, if not for this unprecedented amount of foreign investment, the club would never have been resourceful enough to get the job done alone.
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