Mansour: We are only half way up the Everest

Manchester City owner Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs, expressed his long term plans for the club in a letter to the club’s registered supporters on his 10th year after takeover on Saturday.

City’s annual report, announced earlier in the week, showed Shaikh Mansour has spent more than 1.3 billion pounds on the club since he took over in 2008. “We have come a long way since 2008 and it has been quite a ride. The transfer of Robinho, our first signing; the 2011 FA Cup, our first trophy for 35 years; our first Premier League title secured by ‘that goal’, and now two more; three League Cups; seven straight seasons in the Champions League; and last season, an array of records and a style of play that brings joy to anyone that truly loves this great game,” said Mansour, whose team’s Premier League triumph last season with an unprecedented century of points was the seventh major trophy won by the club in Abu Dhabi’s regime.

“I want to take this opportunity to say that I’m incredibly proud of the fact that the fundamental character of this Club and its supporters has not changed in the last decade. The qualities of loyalty, warmth, humour and humility which clearly stood it in good stead during its more challenging times, are still very much in evidence today and are essential to our success,” added Mansour.