London (AFP)

Billions invested but a Grail which escapes them: twelve years after the arrival of the Emirati owners, Manchester City has turned into a heavyweight of the English championship but remains in search of a first Champions League.

Citizens have entered a new era since the takeover of the club in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour, a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, whose massive investments have shaken the Premier League to its foundations, the club rising from eternally disappointing team to a contender for the final victory in C1.

Since his arrival, Mansour has spent more than 1.5 billion euros, with a record of four Premier League, five League Cups and two Cups.

But a title still eludes them: the Champions League, a trophy so desired by the owners of City, still in the race this season for a qualification in quarters.

And if it fails again at the end of August, the English club will be able to try again next year, the two-year suspension of the European Cups pronounced by UEFA having been lifted Monday by the Arbitral Tribunal for Sport (CAS) .

Since the arrival of Sheikh Mansour and Khaldoon Al Mubarak, appointed club president, Manchester City has broadened its horizon, offering some of the best players on the planet in its quest for a first C1.

"All the teams that want you to sign have the same arguments: + We have a big project, big ambitions, we want to achieve this, that +", explained the Belgian Vincent Kompany, ex-defender and emblematic captain of City, where he has evolved for over a decade. "I was just lucky, City is the only club that hasn't lied."

- Inferiority complex -

However, the horizon was not all blue when Mansour and his Abu Dhabi United Group bought the club on September 1, 2008, to the Thai Thaksin Shinawatra for 210 million pounds (232 million euros). City then lived in the shadow of its neighbor United, who had finished champion the previous season, 32 points ahead.

The inferiority complex was well entrenched after decades of failure, punctuated by crude episodes such as the end of the 1996-1997 season, when coach Alan Ball had asked his players to defend at the end of the last game. championship, mistakenly believing that a draw would save them ... The club was relegated before falling to the 3rd level in 1998-1999.

The situation had stabilized before Mansour's arrival, but their best ranking the previous six seasons in the Premier League was an anecdotal 8th place.

And the composition of the team for the first game after the arrival of the Sheikh, a 3-1 home defeat against Chelsea, shows the distance traveled since, when City included second zone players like Michael Ball, Stephen Ireland, Richard Dunne, or Brazilian striker Jo.

- Transfer of power -

"People forget that ten years ago it was unthinkable that City would rise like this," a former club executive reminded the British newspaper Daily Mail in 2018. "At the time, the players either had never heard of us or were not interested in them."

The new owners had marked their arrival by immediately recruiting the Brazilian striker Robinho, considered then as one of the most promising players in the world. Mansour then continued shopping until the first trophies fell, with the first FA Cup in 42 years won by the Citizens in 2011.

And the changes have not only taken place on the field, the club having a leading training center, while the "City football group" of Mansour now has five other clubs around the world.

The Premier League title won in 2012 by the team then led by Roberto Mancini sounded like a transfer of power, when City succeeded United. Since then, the Manchester football landscape has evolved, with iconic Red Devils coach Alex Ferguson retiring soon after, signaling a certain decline for United in the league, which has benefited City greatly.

And with Pep Guardiola at the helm of the team and monumental financial resources, the next decade could be even more spectacular.

© 2020 AFP