City make all noise now says Zabaleta

MANCHESTER CITY LEICESTER

PABLO ZABALETA has aimed a parting shot at Sir Alex Ferguson by claiming the ‘noisy neighbours’ have now established themselves as Manchester’s No1 club.

The Argentina defender, 32, will be leaving City as a free agent at the end of the season after nine years and 332 appearances for the club and is set to join West Ham.

But while Zabaleta prepares to say his farewell in tomorrow’s final home game of the season against West Brom, another of City’s ‘old guard’ Yaya Toure is poised for a contract extension.

It is a remarkable turnaround for Toure, 34, after he was frozen out of Pep Guardiola’s squad at the start of the season because of fitness problems and critical remarks made by his agent.

Zabaleta takes great satisfaction from helping turn City from mid-table mediocrity and living in United’s shadow to Manchester’s top club.

They are about to finish above United for the fifth time in six seasons to make a mockery of Ferguson’s derogatory remark made after Sheikh Mansour bought City in 2008. Zabaleta, the last player signed before the takeover, said: “When I first came to Manchester I had the same feeling as I did in Barcelona at Espanyol – we were not the main club in the city.

“We can’t say the same thing now. I remember at that time, Ferguson called us the noisy neighbours. We couldn’t let people say something like that about us. I thought if they call us the noisy neighbours then let’s make more noise in the city, let’s be the main club in the city.”

City edged a win that keeps them favourites to finish third and gain automatic qualification for the Champions League thanks to referee Robert Madley’s decision to disallow Riyad Mahrez’s ‘two-touch’ penalty.

By the letter of the law Madley was correct but Foxes manager Craig Shakespeare described it as “a freak incident” as Mahrez slipped while kicking the ball.

David Silva and Gabriel Jesus scored for City and Shinji Okazaki replied with a superb strike.