ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2008, the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) took over English Premier League club Manchester City FC. A few hours later, the club set a British transfer record by signing Robinho for £32.5 million from Spanish giants Real Madrid. It was a slap in the face for Chelsea FC, which had publicly pursued the Brazilian all summer. Chelsea had won the Premier League twice in the previous four seasons (2004/20052007/2008), whereas City had finished eighth, 15th, 14th and ninth in the 20-team league. Robinho’s signing by City created ripples around the football world.
Fast-forward 11 years, and City has added four league championships, two FA Cups and four League Cups to its trophy cabinet. It is the most successful English team of the decade. And this is the best spell in the 139-year history of the club which has its roots in the football team started by St. Mark’s Church, West Gorton, as part of a drive to tackle alcoholism and gang violence. In 2013, ADUG, owned by Abu Dhabi royal Shiekh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, established the City Football Group (CFG) to promote its business interests in football. Today, CFG, valued at $4.8 billion, is the most valuable football group in the world.
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Denne historien er fra December 15, 2019-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
