Manchester City's spending
power is unheard of in football - and is only going to get bigger
in the transfer windows ahead.
The Telegraph says a director of one of the traditional
top four clubs was recently given a very special mission: find out
what budget Manchester City have
– and whether they intend to continue spending.
He came back with, for his club and the rest of the Premier
League, and possibly eventually Europe, bad news.
Not only had City spent a cool £325 million on new players in
the two years under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al
Nahyan – in addition to buying the club for £210 million in August
2008 – but that figure was actually significantly under what had
been budgeted for in Abu Dhabi.
It was discovered by the director that Sheikh Mansour had
earmarked around £500 million alone for transfer deals – net of any
receipts from sales that the club achieved during that time. The
surplus of that money is still there, to be spent, if the right
players can be found.