The Japan Times - Man City's meteoric rise clouded by financial scandal

Eighteen years after a takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group injected vast sums of money, the club are unrecognisable from what they once were.

Before winning the FA Cup final against Stoke in 2011, City had been without a major trophy for 35 years, cowering in the shadow of neighbours Manchester United.

In their 128-year history before the takeover, City had won just nine major trophies, being crowned champions of England only twice.

The balance of power in Manchester briefly shifted in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when City won the league title and celebrated success in the FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup.

But they fell back into obscurity and stayed there for decades.

City's lowest point came with two relegations in three seasons in the late 1990s, plunging the club into the third tier for the first time.

Still backed by crowds regularly in excess of 30,000, they quickly found their way back to the Premier League.

But they failed to make an impact until Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, vice-president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, bought the club, leading to a seismic shift in the balance of power locally and nationally.

- 'Noisy neighbours' -

United's former manager Alex Ferguson once dismissed his new challengers as "noisy neighbours" as the trophies continued to roll in at Old Trafford.

But City did not waste time in flashing their newfound wealth, even if it took some time for the on-pitch success to follow.

Robinho's arrival from Real Madrid in the final hours of the 2008 summer transfer window was the first of a flurry of superstar signings, and City enjoyed local bragging rights by snatching Carlos Tevez from United the following year.

It was the arrivals of Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero that built the bedrock of City's first title-winning side in 44 years.

In the most dramatic finale to a Premier League season, Aguero scored a 94th-minute goal to beat Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the 2011/12 campaign, snatching the title from United's grasp.

That sparked a run of eight Premier League titles in 13 seasons.

Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini were both title winners in Manchester but the arrival of Pep Guardiola in 2016 took City to a different level.

The Spaniard had spent just four years in charge of his beloved Barcelona, before leaving, citing exhaustion, after winning three La Liga titles and the Champions League twice.

He subsequently spent three seasons at Bayern Munich after taking a sabbatical.

But City, against many pundits' expectations, managed to persuade Guardiola to extend his stay for a decade.

He rewarded them by overseeing arguably the most impressive period of sustained success in English football history, with six English top-flight titles in seven seasons between 2017/18 and 2023/24, including an unprecedented four in a row.

Europe was finally conquered in 2023 as City matched United's previously unique achievement as the only English side to win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in the same season.

In recent years the financial charges, first announced in 2023, have cast a shadow over the Etihad, even as trophies have continued to stack up.

The club continue to deny any wrongdoing and have vowed to appeal after the Premier League announced the findings of an independent commission on Tuesday.

One man who continues to give his full-throated support to City is Guardiola, who left the Etihad in May.

The former manager said on X that he would always be behind the club.

"Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all," he posted on Wednesday.

City are fighting tooth and nail and may yet win their appeal.

But if they do not succeed in overturning the verdict of the commission, their golden age will forever carry an asterisk.

Y.Hara--JT