Sheikh Mansour, Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Nasser Al Khelaifi
Sheikh Mansour, Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Nasser Al Khelaifi
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A few weeks ago, the biggest concern for Manchester City was whether the club had priced tickets too high to ensure a full and noisy stadium against Paris Saint-Germain. As it turns out, Pep Guardiola and thousands of inflatable bananas will now be in attendance to add to what is sure to be a lively atmosphere.
Having picked a trip to Liverpool on Sunday for Enzo Maresca's side, the same football gods have decided that City's first home game since breaking Premier League financial rules will be against the club that have, together with City, broken the established order over the last 20 years. The two Gulf-owned clubs have won three of the last four Champions League titles between them after pumping billions into their projects to the fury of the previous rulers of European football.
Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) were for a long time the butt of many football jokes in Europe as they spent huge sums to bring galactiques to Paris without being able to make a mark in the Champions League. PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi felt emboldened to do a lap of honour around the Parc des Princes in 2017 after watching his team beat Barcelona 4-0, only for the famous remontada to see the Parisians destroyed 6-1 in the return fixture.