Pablo Zabaleta reveals how Emirati investment transformed Manchester City...
'When I signed with Manchester City, the club was nothing like what it is today. I lived through the transformation from the start. The training ground was still in Carrington, the press room was a cold caravan that looked like a construction site, and in the winter, no one could stand being there.'
'At that time, City had no real ambition... maybe the League Cup, and the FA Cup was a dream. We were like the 'Espanyol of Manchester', a club living in the shadow of Manchester United. Our fans were passionate but realistic... they knew their team was destined for mid-table or bottom half.'
'I remember my wife telling me: 'Where are you going? Stay at Espanyol! You're not going to improve your career.'... but I wanted to play in the Premier League. Just ten days after arriving, Sheikh Mansour bought the club... and everything changed. They started developing the training complex, the gym, the dining rooms, the offices... everything. Today, when you see the facilities, you can't believe where we came from.'
'Vincent Kompany and I used to call ourselves 'the survivors'... we survived the tough years. City was a club without titles for decades... then Mancini came, great players arrived, and we won the FA Cup against Stoke. I think that day really changed everything.'
@CFCShedy Yeah he’s plucked it out from high nicely but he’s no man on his back so it’s just a watch the ball to his foot game for him.. be more impressive if he took that first touch more inside he would’ve cut all defence out in one touch no messing
Yaya Touré's Farewell in 2018:
1. Vincent Kompany, speaking with a leader's grace, listing just a few of Yaya's colossal feats for this beautiful club. You can see Pep simply watching, surprised all over again by the sheer depth of Kompany's feeling and understanding.
2. Pep Guardiola in the dressing room acknowledging what Yaya built here, something beyond any statistic. He calls him up to speak. And Yaya, in that moment, flashes that famous smile, joking with Pep to give the boys two days off for the record-breaking season. The room erupts. The warmth is palpable.
3. Finally, Khaldoon Al Mubarak presents him with a stunning mosaic, naming him the first legend of the City era under Sheikh Mansour.
We treated our legend really well. His relationship with Pep Guardiola, to this day, is genuinely good.
Don't ever let the clickbait and the noise get to you. The truth is right there in the footage, in the respect, in the laughter.
@garbofield@ForeverScept@grok Policy shift just upped the rate per tonne about 20 quid April just gone. Nothing directly cost related other than that. They’ll probably tighten on regulations but not seen anything about that. Think the fella wanted a few clicks. 3000% is a farce.