Sheikh Mohamed, along with other dignitaries, cheered for the English club as the team completed historic treble with last night's win
Many are unaware that UAE's Sheikh Mansour is the proud owner of the English football club Manchester City. Now, a video of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's reaction after knowing this fact has gone viral.
The Turkish President was informed about this during a meeting with the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice-President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, in the wake of Manchester City clinching the historic Champions League title, beating Inter Milan 1-0 in the final in Istanbul on Saturday.
Erdogan was amazed to know about it and congratulated Sheikh Mansour. Sheikh Mohamed and Sheikh Mansour watched the final match live and witnessed history being made in Turkey on Saturday.
Congratulations poured in for the victorious team as a classy goal from Rodri in the 68th minute gave City a Champions League title. Man City, which has already won the Premier League and FA Cup this season, completed the historic treble, becoming the first English side to achieve it after Manchester United in 1999.
Sheikh Mansour said in a tweet after the historic victory: “My congratulations and gratitude to our loyal Manchester City fans, and everyone at the Club, including management, technical staff and players. We will continue to define and celebrate our success together."
Sheikh Mohamed arrived in Turkey on a working visit on Saturday to discuss opportunities for strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries, with a focus on further enhancing economic cooperation and supporting regional stability.
Lt General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, congratulated Sheikh Mansour on clinching the title by the Man City team in the European Champions League. “Congratulations to all Emiratis and all football fans in the world.”
Since Sheikh Mansour took over the football club in 2008, it has seen a remarkable rise, clinching numerous titles. For five years, the City team has exerted its dominance in English football, securing four Premier League titles in the past five seasons.
As a result of strong support from Abu Dhabi, Manchester City's brand value jumped 13 per cent to €1.51 billion (Dh6 billion; $1.64 billion), surpassing Real Madrid (€1.46 billion) to become the world's most valuable football club brand.
The Man City club's brand value has seen a positive increase of 34 per cent growth since the Covid-19 pandemic and has now reached an all-time high. Man City football club also boasts the highest revenue in this year's table, a key driver in its ascent to the top.
"Manchester City FC has achieved an extraordinary feat by surpassing Real Madrid to become the champion of football club brands," said Hugo Hensley, head of sports services at Brand Finance.
"Being recognised as the world's most valuable football club brand reflects the phenomenal growth story that Manchester City has had in recent years. This achievement recognises the evolution of the brand and the Club as a whole. The Club has been performing consistently and has broken records on and off the pitch this season whilst operating in a way that promotes financial sustainability," said Roel de Vries, chief operating officer at City Football Group.
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Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.