Chairman praises fans

CITY chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak says he was bowled over by the passion of Blues' fans when he first came to Manchester.

The Emirates businessman has promised, along with owner Sheikh Mansour, to end 33 years of hurt Blue pride. But al Mubarak, who is a hugely successful entrepreneur in his own right, says he has had to take a step back from all the emotion, so that his head continues to rule his heart.

The chairman said earlier this week that he would not get involved in splashing "crazy money" in the manner of Real Madrid's splurges on Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. City tried to sign Kaka for a staggering £91m, but the chairman says future decisions will be based more on sound business sense. "It's very hard to instil a sense of discipline in yourself," he said. "I'm a big football fan, and if you think I'm passionate, then Sheikh Mansour takes it to another level. "He's a sportsman and he understands football, but we realise that when it comes to the club you have to have a business-like attitude. "Unlike in business, things are very different in football. In business you can have the right structure, the right positions, the right business plan and you can, to a certain extent, control how it performs."

A man who made his own fortune as a high-powered oil company executive and is now a key figure in Abu Dhabi's immensely rich investment vehicle Mubadala, even al Mubarak was taken aback when they added City to the emirate's portfolio last summer. "I don't think I truly appreciated what I was getting into until I got there," he said. "It's very easy when you are sitting in Abu Dhabi and when your knowledge of it is based on hearsay and based on watching football on TV and going to games. Once you go to Manchester and you are the chairman of Manchester City Football Club, you quickly realise the importance of that club to the city of Manchester and its people, and that passion is not something that you take lightly. "I was really aware of how much people care and their lives are almost connected to it."

The awareness of City fans' frustration, and their natural suspicion of a takeover by "outsiders" was a key factor in the decision to snatch Robinho from under Chelsea's noses. "That was a key signing for many reasons," he said. "First, Sheikh Mansour comes in, he's the new owner, but for the fans his intentions may not have been clear. People don't know whether it's going to remain a mid-table club, is it going to drift to the bottom or are we going to compete for the title? "The other question for people was that even with considerable financial commitment, can City attract a top-tier player? "It was a statement of intent from Sheikh Mansour; he bought the club and bought in a top-notch player that Chelsea were on the verge of signing."

And he revealed that by "verge of signing", the Blues could hardly have cut it finer in landing their £32.5m British record-buy. He said: "It was crazy, put it that way. He was not metres away - I would say inches away from signing for Chelsea and that arrangement with Robinho was a huge coup for us. "First we got Robinho and he was followed by four other players. The key for us in the January transfer window was to bring balance to the squad."

Source - Manchester Evening News