Why Manchester City are slowly becoming the Premier Leagues most hated team

It seems like eons again now that Manchester City became the richest club in the world. It took the entire league by complete surprise when, on the final day of the 2008 summer transfer window, the club was purchased by the Abu Dhabi United group. That same day saw the club sign Robinho from Real Madrid for a then record £32.5m.

That signing was an indicator of things to come from the new owners of City. With Premiership and Champions League glory the goal for the club now, it was hard for fans not to be envious of the clubs new found wealth. Here was a side that had gone from mid-table mediocrity and have now reached the promised land of the Champions League.

However, it is a known fact that an incoming sugar daddy alienates a club from the rest of the Premiership. The same happened with Chelsea and is now happening to City. Is it jealousy? Perhaps, find me one fan who wouldn’t want their team to become the richest over night and I’ll find you a fan that’s lying.

City fans must have been dreaming when the news reached their ears that they were to become the richest team in the world. The inevitable recruitment drive soon followed. Robinho was certainly not the last high profile player to join the Citizens and the likes of Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez and Vincent Kompany soon followed suit.

Yet for every Tevez was also a Mario Balotelli, for every Kompany, an Alexander Kolorov. But with the money that the club had, every poor signing was merely a pocket change blip for the club. However, with the likes of Balotelli and Emmanuel Adebayor on the books, it was hardly going to be a match made in heaven with the players, fans and the club.

Balotelli was in the media for all the wrong reasons rather than right, Adebayor caused a major storm which Arsenal fans will famously remember as the club began to find themselves hitting the back pages for all the wrong reasons. It led to a lot of negativity from fans of rival Premier League sides, a negative vibe that continues even to this day.

But fellow professionals and managers weren’t drawn in to condemning the Blues for their escapades until their 0-0 draw with Arsenal back in January. It what was considered a dull affair, the Eastland’s side felt the full wrath of the press for their display, considered by some to be too defensive for a team that possesses flair in abundance.

That game saw managers and player’s alike stand up and take notice of the side City were becoming. Manager Roberto Mancini has his team playing the Italian much to the dislike of all those associated with the English game. Yet, they finished third which, credit when credit is due, is a fantastic achievement for the club.

Yet while the season may be creeping back into the heads of fans, the criticising of City didn’t slow during the off season. The main reason for the hating? City’s £400m acceptance from Etihad to rename the City of Manchester stadium. A huge coincidence considering the Financial Fair Play quotas that recently came in effect.

The likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United have all called for the deal to be investigated by UEFA who feel that, while the deal is within the rules and regulations, they believe that the legality of the deal needs to be looked into. The reasoning? Etihad is owned by the same Bin Zayed family that owns Manchester City.

Another key factor in this is that Etihad have never declared a profit in their history which, effectively, sees City giving themselves the money, something which UEFA strictly prohibits in the guidelines for FFP. The footballing association are set to investigate the deal and, should City be found guilty of any wrong-doing, could see the deal pulled at the club, potentially, banned from participating in European competitions until the matter is sorted.

Mancini then took it upon himself to publicly declare his interest for want-away Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri. Naturally, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was pretty pissed about it saying the Italian has disrespected his club. Mancini felt he did nothing wrong but going to the media regarding a potential move for Nasri.

It is a difficult situation to deal with for Wenger. He hopes to convince Nasri to stay but he has already lost Gael Clichy to City and is having to deal with constant speculation linking the French international and captain Cesc Fabregas with moves away from the Emirates. The latest fiasco will do little to improve relations between the two sides.

Either way, Mancini’s outburst and the Etihad deal hasn’t put the club in a positive light. Fans of rivals clubs criticise them for buying their success and now the clubs themselves are beginning to see them in a whole new way after this summer.

Ben McAleer

Follow Ben on Twitter @BenMcAleer1

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