Manchester City owner almost bought a major London club before doing the game-changing deal

Manchester City owner Sheikh Manusour almost brought a major London club before doing the game-changing deal in the north-west, Club Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak reveals. “Sheikh Mansour had a couple of people looking after that [the search for a club],” explains Al Mubarak, “and every time a real option would come in, he would give me a call and say "What do you think?"' “By the beginning of that summer [2008], it was clear Sheikh Mansour had zoomed in on Manchester City as the most attractive proposition. Then he proceeded. He did the deal.” “He loves this club in his own way and within his own environment. Ultimately, I think that going and sitting in the stands and watching it there is just not his style. I don't know if 'style' is the right word to use. But you know, I'm not exaggerating.” “In 10 years, he hasn't missed a single game. I can't remember a game, be it a Premier League game, a Champions League game, an FA Cup game, a Capital One or Carabao Cup game, there isn't one of them in the last 10 years. He's seen every single one.” The City Football Group has clubs in the US, Australia, Japan, Spain and Uruguay and Al Mubarak reveals: “The next move is China. China is an immense market. “It is also a growing market in football and we have to have the edge there. In the same way that we created the vision of City Football Group, and it is now getting endorsed as we go, I want us to be the first to get a real breakthrough in China.” City appointed Pep Guardiola in 2016 but Al Mubarak reveals they first wanted him in 2013. “You have to understand, Ferran (Soriano, CEO) and Txiki (Begiristain, director of football) are obviously very close to Pep. “Pep was living in New York at this point, and had made himself clearly available on the market. So, Ferran and Txiki reached out to him, but Pep decided that Bayern Munich was the right option.' Al Mubarak says Pellegrini knew about the approach. “It was always a transparent relationship with Manuel,' he says.  'Let me put it this way. Manuel always knew where we stood on things. There was no ambiguity there. And he was always a gentleman and a supreme professional, from day one.”

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