Manchester City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour, attended his team’s Champions League final victory against Internazionale on Saturday evening. The sheikh was present in Istanbul as City won Europe’s top club prize for the first time.
It was only the second competitive game he has attended since his investment vehicle, the Abu Dhabi United Group, purchased City in 2008. He missed the 2021 final that City lost to Chelsea in Porto, but made arrangements to be in Turkey. Khaldoon al-Mubarak, City’s chairman, was also at the showpiece match at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
The only previous City match Sheikh Mansour attended was almost 13 years ago when he visited the Etihad Stadium to witness a 3-0 victory over Liverpool in 2010.
City have risen to become the dominant force in the English game under Mansour’s ownership, with the club having won seven Premier League titles in the past 12 years and five of the last six. His spending has transformed City, enabling them to attract some of the best players in the game. Mansour got to see Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland and Rodri play in the flesh for the first time. The sheikh’s investment over 15 years has resulted in a new training ground for the club and expansion of the Etihad Stadium.
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The win in Turkey made City only the second English side to secure the treble, replicating Manchester United’s achievement in 1999, having already retained their domestic title and won the FA Cup. City also now sit at the heart of a global network of 13 clubs known as the City Football Group.
