By Samindra Kunti in Istanbul
June 9 – Chasing a treble, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will be favourites in the Champions League final against Inter Milan after a stellar season, a win representing the apotheosis of Abu Dhabi’s investment in the game and sports-washing project.
In a dramatic week for the global game with Saudi Arabia spending at unprecedented levels to get a foothold in the sport, it would be fitting if Manchester City clinched the European Cup for the first time in history, a victory representing the culmination of a state-driven project since 2008.
That year Abu Dhabi United Group took over the club from Thaksin Shinawatra and transformed the game with mammoth spending, inflating the market, only to be almost upstaged by Qatari Sports Investments’ acquisition of Paris Saint-Germain in 2011.
In 2020, the Parisians reached the Champions League final but failed to win. On Saturday, Manchester City could become the first Gulf-owned club to claim the European Cup. They will be sky-high favourites against the Italians for whom the final represents a moment of joy amid deep financial concerns.
In September 2022, the investment bank Raine won the mandate to seek new ownership for Inter, but the bank has not found an investor yet that is willing to pour in over a billion euros in a club that keeps bleeding money.
On the field, the club have an old squad and eliminated AC Milan in the semi-finals of the competition, but whether Milan Skriniar and co can upset City, a team that has breezed past opponents this season, including Real Madrid in the last four, remains to be seen.
Pep Guardiola’s team first won the Premier League in a two-horse race with Arsenal before they clinched the FA Cup against Manchester United last weekend. However, it’s the Champions League that City crave and spearheaded by Erling Haaland, the English champions will not be satisfied with anything less.
In 2005, an English team also prevailed in the Turkish capital when Liverpool defeated AC Milan 4-3 in one of the most dramatic European club finals of all time.
Turkey’s recently re-elected head of state Recep Erdogan will attend Saturday’s final at the Attaturk Stadium on the outskirts of Istanbul.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1726513746labto1726513746ofdlr1726513746owedi1726513746sni@i1726513746tnuk.1726513746ardni1726513746mas1726513746