For United now
you start measuring yourself up against one of the best players in the world and you think, ‘You know what? I can do it’. He raised standards and he raised the profile of the club.” As for the enigmatic Balotelli, Kompany says: “He had a heart of gold but from the moment he arrived all of a sudden we had paparazzi hanging out of the trees, it was unbelievable. “We were getting followed everywhere because he was there. We went from putting security measures all the way around the perimeter of the training ground to avoid paparazzi coming in. Then the moment he left we took everything down because nobody was coming any more. That shows how much the paparazzi were getting paid when he was here. It was a bit surreal.” A bit like City’s journey over the past 10 years, one which Kompany is just “grateful, humble and proud” to have been part of.
JOLEON LESCOTT
(player, 2009-2014) “It was well-documented at the time that all of us had only joined for one reason: the money. But that wasn’t the case. We used it as motivation to get the job done.
“Everton [the club he left] were more successful than City at that time in regard to finishing higher in the table. But I’m not disrespecting Everton when I say while they hoped to win titles,
TXIKI BEGIRISTAIN
(director of football, 2012-present day) “It’s very different to working at Barcelona. Here the owners are happy to let us do our work, but they are absolutely professional. At Barcelona there were so many board members. Politics.
“Myself, Ferran [Soriano] and Pep [Guardiola] worked together at Barcelona and we know each other well. We are enjoying seeing City’s ambition and belief was to win titles. That was what I wanted.
“And within a couple of years of me joining the club it happened.
“I wouldn’t say United are in City’s shadow because of their history but in regard to recent form and ambition, definitely we are above them.
“We’ve proved we are more than the noisy neighbours.” the hunger of the young players. We have to keep that hunger.
“I came in 2012 and a lot has happened. We have to give credit to the people who were already working here in Manchester. The club grew fast in those first four years [after the takeover] and that’s the most difficult thing.
“Now the project is growing and growing. There’s a lot more to come. We can build on what we have already achieved.”