It has been a long wait but Manchester City have finally won a trophy and have qualified for next seasons Champions League. This is where their owner Sheikh Mansour intends them to remain after injecting a fortune into the club. However, as Tottenham have found, it is one thing qualifying for the tournament, it is another thing staying in it for many years.
On the one hand it is great that the so called top four has been broken up, but on the other it highlights the fact that success can simply be bought. The monopoly that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have enjoyed has ensured that their wealth far outweighs any of their counterparts. However, with City and their bottomless pit of cash anything is now possible.
They have struggled to attract the top level players as they have lacked a Champions League place. With this now assured the spending could be astronomical this summer. In 2009 they had a £100 million offer accepted by Milan for Kaka only to be rejected by the player as he felt City was a step down. Following the outcome of this season anything is possible.
There have already been links to several of the World’s top players although some seem very far-fetched; Iniesta and Xavi for instance. But, one article I did read suggested that some of these players might want one last pay day and they can pretty much name their fee at City. Football has been a business for a long time now but even with UEFA’s new rules coming in the clubs will still act as they please.
City have made massive strides this season but the true test will come next year. It will be fascinating to see what they do over the summer; one assumes it’s going to be busy.
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