On Saturday evening, the English big club decided the final against Inter in Istanbul. At the same time, there were also scenes of jubilation in front of the big screen in Abu Dhabi, one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. CELEBRATION IN ABU DHABI: 7,300 kilometers away from City’s home ground in Manchester, there was full jubilation for City at the Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi. Photo: SCREEN DUMP: @yasmallad on Instagram After almost 15 years, the billion investment from the company of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan was rewarded with the one trophy Manchester City was missing. From the stands, the City owner could see Erling Braut Haaland and his teammates cheer like crazy after securing a long-awaited triple triumph. This is the first time in 13 years that the powerful owner was present at a City match. Therefore, the pictures of him were spread around the world during the final. New York Times reporter Tariq Panja has also noticed who the owner is sitting next to. – Not only is Mansour at the final, it seems his brother, the head of state of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed, is there with him too. But of course City is not owned by the Emirates, but is a private investment by Sheikh Mansour, writes Panja on Twitter. Technically, City is privately owned by Sheikh Mansour. But a number of experts on the Middle East claim that it is elder brother and head of state Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed who is in power over the club. – It was nice of Mansour to give his older brother a match ticket, adds Panja. NOW AND THEN: There are 13 years between these photos of City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyans. This is his first and second visit to the stands during a City match. – Want to make maximum use of this Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, the expert on the Middle East, is a researcher at the Baker Institute. He believes that the final victory in the world’s most prestigious club tournament is a huge triumph for the Emirates and their “soft power strategy”. – This triumph is something the leadership in Abu Dhabi will make maximum use of, says Ulrichsen to news. In short, the “soft power strategy” is about making a good mark in the world and making friends internationally, through, for example, investments in sports. He believes the authorities will now blanket newspapers, TV broadcasts and social media with the fact that they own one of the most successful clubs of all time. – They will probably also host the team in Abu Dhabi in the near future, says Ulrichsen and adds: – The resources Abu Dhabi has spent on Manchester City have put them on the global map, in a way that few other investments probably could do, says the researcher. TRIUMPH: Erling Braut Haaland and Manchester City could lift the Champions League trophy after the 1-0 victory over Inter. Photo: PAUL ELLIS / AFP – Experiment Qatar-controlled Paris Saint-Germain stumbled at the final hurdle in 2020, just as Manchester City lost the final the following year. But now the football investments of the Gulf states of the Arabian Peninsula have reached the top of the football world. – This will put the list even higher for those who follow, whether it concerns Saudi Arabia’s ownership in Newcastle or others. It will also secure the status of Manchester City as the most successful English club, probably throughout football history, says American Ulrichsen. The Gulf states’ involvement in sport has met with increasingly critical scrutiny. However, it was a different note back in 2008. Then Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyans came on board, to buy a club that had been down for many years. – I think many people were enthusiastic about this. The concept of sports washing was not even a concept at the time, says Ulrichsen. STAR BUY: Brazilian Robinho was the first big signing for the City owners. Photo: PAUL THOMAS / AP The World Cup in Qatar had not yet been awarded by FIFA, and it was many years before Saudi Arabia would take over ownership in Newcastle. Ulrichsen believes that Abu Dhabi was ahead of its time. They saw early on the potential in utilizing sports investments to their own advantage. – People saw it as an experiment. It was not certain that it would succeed, says Ulrichsen. SUPPORTERS: According to researcher Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, many City fans were enthusiastic when the club changed owners. Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP 100 rule violations The acquisition was also the start of an intensified money gallop in football. In the last 15 years, the club has spent around NOK 20 billion on player purchases, according to the transfer lists on the website Transfermarkt. That is approximately NOK 13 billion more than what they have sold players for in the same time period. At the same time, a shadow hangs over the club. In 2020, the club was actually banned from the Mesterligaen for breaching financial fair play rules. The decision was later overturned in the Sports Arbitration Court. But this winter the Premier League charged the club with around 100 breaches of the rules. What this case leads to is an open question. But in the last five years, the club’s spending on the transfer market has been halved. – There are many clubs that invest more money than us. Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal. To say that we have spent a lot of money and that we have won because of it is simply not true, Ferran Soriano, the club’s CEO, told Movistar in May. MUST ANSWER FOR THEMSELVES: The CEO, Ferran Soriano, and Manchester City have this winter been charged with around 100 breaches of the rules. Photo: CARL RECINE / Reuters But there is also more to Abu Dhabi’s role in Manchester City, which faces criticism. Violations of human rights are central. – The human rights situation is worse The human rights organization Amnesty writes that the United Arab Emirates introduced new laws in 2022 that significantly limit freedom of expression and assembly. Secretary-General John Peder Egenæs has previously described the human rights situation in the Emirates as frighteningly bad. – Everything that has been said about Qatar is worse in the emirates, Egenæs told news. And the situation has not improved during the period when the members of the royal family in Abu Dhabi have controlled Manchester City, Ulrichsen points out. – The human rights situation has gotten worse partly because of the uncertainty we have seen in the Middle East over the past 12 years, says Ulrichsen, referring to the uprisings in a number of Arab countries in 2011. – They have put their own interests first by breaking down human rights, without taking into account how it changes the view the rest of the world has of the country, says Ulrichsen. news has contacted the authorities in the Emirates for a comment, but has not received a response to the inquiry. Believes the Emirates have escaped criticism – It is the West that has used the term sports laundering. I don’t think these states really think that way, says economics professor Harry Arne Solberg. Solberg points out that washing something should really divert attention away from negative attention. But it has turned out that the opposite has happened. Solberg points out that, however, it is Qatar that has received most of the criticism, due to conditions surrounding their Football World Cup last year. PROFESSOR: Harry Arne Solberg. Photo: Amund Aune Nilsen / news Solberg points out that the investments in football are probably more about states in the Middle East wanting to become more visible in the rest of the world. – It’s about them getting a status that they can be counted on more in the world. It has probably happened. In a way, the Emirates have also escaped. It is Qatar that has been thinned the most and Saudi Arabia as well, says Solberg.
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