Great Sheikhs as City land Robinho from under Chelsea’s noses, while United finally land Berbatov on a crazy transfer deadline day

Comment & analysis round up

Quote of the day: “I am absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent like Robinho. In order to compete with the best teams in the Premier League we have to be in the market for players of this calibre, and Robinho is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. I am really looking forward to introducing him to the rest of the squad and to the City fans. This is a real statement of intent as to the ambitions of Manchester City.” - Mark Hughes.

Runner-up: “This is a key signing. Dimitar is one of the best and most exciting strikers in world football. His style and ability will give the team a different dimension and I am sure he will be a popular player with the fans.” - Sir Alex Ferguson.

Today’s overview: Breathless. After a summer of pure guff, the final day of the transfer window broke all expectations of excitement, with Manchester City suddenly being propelled as the richest club in the world, while Manchester United finally got their man.

The blue half of Manchester however is without question the story of the day.

Daniel Taylor leads with the stunning story of how Manchester City have been taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), snaring Robinho for a whopping £32.5m, before claiming that the “Abu Dhabi United Group is expected to be followed by the biggest injection of cash into a football club since Roman Abramovich changed the face of the English game.”

On Robinho, James Ducker reports he “has signed a four-year deal worth £95,000 a week after tax, effectively trebling the wages he was earning at Real.” Jeremy Wilson reports on the objectives of ADUG, while the The Independent report how the international climate has allowed ADUG to buy a Premier League club.

Who are ADUG? David Robertson investigates Dr Sulaiman al-Fahim, the face of ADUG “known as ‘the Gulf’s Donald Trump.’” But according to Louise Armitstead, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the real tycoon behind yesterday’s extraordinary takeover.

The voice of caution comes from Kevin McCarra, who argues with City likely to remain outside the Big Four this season, “any feeling of anticlimax would be ridiculous, but it might still be a cause of turbulence.” Other dissenting opinions include James Lawton, who argues City lost their credibility when they sold out to Thaksin Shinawatra.

The second major story of the day was United’s capture of Dimitar Berbatov, as reported by Gary Jacob. The tabloids however go into overdrive, with Matt Law reporting that “Ferguson drove Berbatov in his Bentley a little later with the player apparently hidden under a cover on the rear seats.” Henry Winter was left far from satisfied however, saying the “Premier League must inspect United’s conduct regarding Berbatov.”

England also remain a hot topic this Tuesday. Robert Kitson is hugely doubtful of Fabio Capello’s ability to turn England’s fortunes around, Jose Mourinho calls out England’s failure to blood youngsters, Matt Dickinson reports on how Capello is sticking to his guns with regard to his training methods, and on the omission of Michael Owen Matt Lawton notes that Capello was aware that this “would invite an avalanche of criticism” - a point evidenced by Ian Wright’s rant on Owen’s exclusion.

Finally there is a round-up of the weekend’s action from Europe, with Paolo Bandini shedding praise on Ronaldinho’s AC Milan debut, while Sid Lowe notes the personal triumph of Numancia’s goalscorer Mario - the poorest player in La Liga - whose strike downed Barcelona.

The Guardian’s Daniel Taylor leads with the stunning story of Manchester City on transfer deadline day, who snared Robinho for a whopping £32.5m. “Manchester City demonstrated their new-found status as the richest club on the planet when the billionaire Arabs who have bought the club from Thaksin Shinawatra stunned Roman Abramovich late last night by signing Robinho from under the noses of Chelsea… Never has Abramovich lost out in a straight battle of money for a player’s transfer. And never before have City had the financial muscle that comes from being backed by an organisation as powerful as the Abu Dhabi United Group… On a seminal day that saw Thaksin sell the club for £210m and relinquish his chairmanship, Robinho’s arrival represents an immediate statement of intent - a box-office signing that takes their spending to £70m since Mark Hughes replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager.”

In a secondary article, Daniel Taylor explains how the Abu Dhabi United Group have made City the richest club in the world. “This morning City find themselves not only the richest club in Manchester but perhaps the world. The announcement yesterday that Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, had sold the club to Abu Dhabi United Group (Adug) is expected to be followed by the biggest injection of cash into a football club since Roman Abramovich changed the face of the English game with his £600m-plus investment in Chelsea… Adug is fronted by Sulaiman al-Fahim, a 31-year-old businessman, property mogul and reality-television show host who is ranked 16th in Arabian Business Magazine’s list of 100 most powerful Arabs, with a personal wealth said to be 10 times that of Abramovich.”

More flesh is added to the Robinho-Manchester City story by The Times’ James Ducker. “Robinho has signed a four-year deal worth £95,000 a week after tax, effectively trebling the wages he was earning at Real… Robinho is understood to have threatened to stay in Brazil for two years unless he was allowed to leave Real. It is rare that Abramovich is trumped in the transfer market, but with the Chelsea owner refusing to increase his bid of £29 million for Robinho, City landed the player in a stunning coup as the landscape of English football prepared to undergo monumental change for the second time in five years.”

In a supplementary article, James Ducker offers his words of warning. “City fans may have every reason to be sceptical, even if most will have awoken yesterday believing that they had won the lottery. It was only this time last year that Thaksin was being trumpeted as the club’s saviour.”

The Telegraph’s Jeremy Wilson appears to have the inside scoop on the objectives of the Abu Dhabi United Group. “It is expected that Al Fahim will take a place on the board, with manager Mark Hughes having already been informed that the club’s target will be finishing in the top four and qualification for the Champions League. In the long term, the aim is to win both the Premier and Champions Leagues. The example of Abramovich has been closely studied and ADUG are prepared to spend in excess of the £600 million that Chelsea’s Russian owner has spent in gathering five trophies, including two Premier League titles, during his five years at Stamford Bridge.”

The Independent report how the international climate has affected the Abu Dhabi United Group to get involved in the Premier League. “It is the latest demonstration of the region’s financial muscle. Investors from across the region, particularly state-owned sovereign wealth funds, have grown in strength off the back of the soaring oil prices, which hit record levels just shy of $150 a barrel this summer. It comes at a time when the credit crunch has wreaked havoc across Western economies causing many to look for outside investment… After the Premiership, the next step will be Europe, Mr Sulaiman said. Yet City fans will be most interested in overhauling United, their bitter rivals, who have claimed the bragging rights in Manchester for the past 30 years.”

David Robertson (The Times) investigates who is Dr Sulaiman al-Fahim, the face of the Abu Dhabi United Group. “Al-Fahim has become known as ‘the Gulf’s Donald Trump’ after the success of his real estate company, Hydra Properties. Hydra is building a number of skyscrapers in Dubai and is also involved in the Al Reem project, a man-made island near the city of Abu Dhabi. Al-Fahim shares another similarity with Trump because he hosts a reality television series called Hydra Executives. This follows the format of The Apprentice series, with Al-Fahim taking on the Sir Alan Sugar role.”

According to the Telegraph’s Louise Armitstead however, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the real tycoon behind yesterday’s extraordinary takeover. “The brother of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, the biggest of the United Arab Emirates, he has an estimated family fortune of about $1trillion (£555billion) to buy foreign assets alone. Sources said last night he has a personal wealth of ‘many, many billions of dollars’, apparently putting the £11.7billion firepower of Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich in the shade… Sheikh Mansour has a deep love of sport – he is chairman of Al Jazeera Football Club and chairman of the Emirates Horse Racing Authority. He is a key political figure and is a member of the UAE Federal Cabinet and Minister of Presidential Affairs. In business, he is chairman of First Gulf Bank and chairman of the International Petroleum Investment Company. He is married to the similarly fabulously wealthy Sheikha Manal bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.”

The voice of caution comes from Kevin McCarra (Guardian) who fears that with Man City, already being behind the top four, must fend off any pressure to sack Mark Hughes down the line. “Al Fahim may be courting disappointment in the process. For all the exertions yesterday, hardly anyone can see the existing squad as the equal of Liverpool and Arsenal, let alone Manchester United or Chelsea. No matter what marvels are accomplished in the January transfer window it may be too late to make up lost ground. Any feeling of anticlimax would be ridiculous, but it might still be a cause of turbulence. Any manager who predates a proprietor typically has grim career prospects, and Mark Hughes will be all the more vulnerable if the expectations of him are steep. It would be terrible for City if he were treated as an element of the old regime that needed to be purged.”

For James Lawton (Independent), Manchester City lost their credibility when they sold out to Thaksin Shinawatra. “We want the best players and we want our clubs to be successful and if we are Chelsea we don’t really care how scrupulous Roman Abramovich was when he got his hands on so much of the mineral wealth of a nation where anything even approaching true wealth is in the hands of a hideously small minority. If we are City we certainly don’t demur at the arrival of Dr Al-Fahim, so laden with promise of great days and with business antecedents no more dubious than anyone else who retains fabulous wealth when much of the rest of the world is heading for financial Skid Row… But then perhaps it’s a bit late to strike a moral stance on City’s behalf. Maybe when Thaksin brought in Sven Goran Eriksson, rustled up £40m or so for the spending spree that brought some B-list stars and a spurt of entertaining football… was when City announced what they really stood for, both in the boardroom and on the terraces.”

Rob Hughes (IHT) takes time out to review City’s time under Thaksin Shinawatra. “City fans remember Thaksin’s tenure with mixed emotions. Some were unhappy about his alleged human rights violations as prime minister. Some were simply grateful for his apparent wealth. His grasp of the masses hit a chord with the 40,000 people who, whatever division City languished in, would support this team rather than the more opulent and usually more successful Manchester United playing just down the road.”

James Montague (Guardian) asks the simple question “what do we know about the new owners?” “According to Sulaiman Al Fahim, who brokered the deal and sits on Adug’s board, it is merely a group of “prestigious businessmen”. But in a society where patronage and royal decree are the driving forces behind business success, those closer to the deal suspect differently… ‘This [Adug] is essentially an investment vehicle set up for Man City and funded by sheikhs in the royal family. It’s not exactly clear which sheikhs it is yet but this is the Abu Dhabi royal family.’”

On the second major transfer deal of the day, Dimitar Berbatov’s move to Manchester United, Gary Jacob gives the background in The Times. “Tottenham received their valuation and Fraizer Campbell will move to White Hart Lane on a season-long loan… As part of the deal, Tottenham dropped their official complaint about United’s pursuit of Berbatov. On a frantic day, Tottenham failed in their attempts to sign Carlton Cole, the West Ham United forward and Emily Heskey, the Wigan Athletic striker… Among the wild rumours whirling around yesterday was that Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, hijacked the City welcoming committee, which had been sent to meet Berbatov at the airport. The Bulgaria striker was then whisked to United’s Carrington training complex — near where City train — to meet Ferguson.”

Apparently the wild rumours of how Sir Alex bagged Berbatov are facts, as reported by Matt Law (Daily Express). “On a dramatic transfer deadline day, Tottenham claimed United had illegally hijacked Manchester City’s surprise £34million bid for striker Berbatov – which was accepted – with Ferguson meeting him at Manchester Airport without Spurs’ permission. Ferguson drove Berbatov in his Bentley a little later with the player apparently hidden under a cover on the rear seats.”

Tim Rich (Telegraph) adds more insight into how United finally snared Berbatov. “Berbatov spent three hours at Carrington before having a medical. With two and a half hours remaining of the transfer window, he was at Old Trafford where he met Gill and United’s solicitor, Maurice Watkins. Despite the club he was contracted to accepting City’s £30million-plus offer, Berbatov had not seen anyone from the blue half of Manchester.”

Henry Winter however is far from neutral on the Berbatov transfer, arguing (in the Telegraph) that the “Premier League must inspect United’s conduct regarding Berbatov.”

Moving onto Newcastle, Colin Young (Daily Mail) reports that Kevin Keegan is once again looking over his shoulder at the Toon. “Kevin Keegan future at Newcastle United was back in the balance last night after a summit with the club’s hierarchy. The Newcastle manager was called into a 2pm meeting yesterday which club insiders described as ‘very important but not related to transfer business’ and it is believed a heated discussion took place, with managing director Derek Llambias making it clear they were not happy… It is understood that Keegan had little knowledge of the signings made so far, including yesterday’s deal for striker Xisco from Deportivo and the loan capture of Nacho Gonzalez from Valencia.”

Ahead of thew World Cup qualifiers, the Guardian’s Robert Kitson is hugely doubtful of Fabio Capello’s ability to turn England’s fortunes around. “I fear Capello has his work cut out. Five friendlies have provided little succour and if England play dull, low-scoring football for the next 12 months, his tenure will be as far removed from la dolce vita as is humanly possible on an annual salary of £6m. The published extracts from Gabriele Marcotti’s new book Capello: Portrait of a Winner do not suggest a man who exhibits patience in the face of criticism. It is not hard to imagine Joe Dolce’s Shaddap You Face becoming the soundtrack to his press conferences.”

The Telegraph score a coup, having Jose Mourinho write an article on how he feel’s Capello is progressing with England. “Sometimes you have to be brave enough to cut with the past as well and make a big decision about a couple of young players. These may be players that nobody else in the country thinks should play for the national team, but you have to take the risk. This is the way to keep moving forward as a team. The same is true with a club side, and so it must be with a national team. Never stand still. And here we arrive at what I think is England’s biggest problem – that it is not producing so many good young players for the manager to choose from. The country has to establish a better development programme if it wants to qualify for, and win, major tournaments.”

Keeping with England, and despite stories of players smuggling food into the England camp, Matt Dickinson (The TImes) reports on how Capello is sticking to his guns. “Banning mayonnaise and butter from the dinner table should be restraints that our footballers can stomach, but there are now complaints — ready-made excuses, if you prefer — that being ordered to their rooms to rest post-training rather than loitering in the games’ room or with the masseurs have undermined the camaraderie. Whether Capello thinks these are the whinges of pampered players, it remains his task to convince them that this is a ride not to be missed. To do so, he will not be resorting to paintball sessions or trips to the theatre, rather sticking to his plans for double training. Hard work and a few plain truths are the methods that have worked well enough for him in the past and to which he will adhere.”

Matt Lawton (Daily Mail) adds that Fabio Capello was fully aware of the reaction he would get by dropping Michael Owen. “In Capello there would appear to be no self-doubt. He knew his decision to omit Michael Owen from his squad would invite an avalanche of criticism. Members of his staff said as much to him at his selection meeting on Sunday. But he was not about to change his mind because of what others might think… A starting place almost certainly remains beyond Walcott’s reach for now. But Capello would like to use him, if required, as an impact substitute who can offer something a little different.”

The Sun’s Ian Wright however is dumbstruck by Owen’s exclusion. “Michael Owen is disappointed, England fans are probably baffled and I am shocked and sad. But at least Fabio Capello has made one lot of people happy: Croatia’s defenders. His bombshell decision to dump Michael Owen from the crucial start to England’s World Cup qualifying campaign is questionable to say the least… Owen is fit and ready. And as I said before, just having him on the bench, in the squad, in and around the lads would provide reassurance from an old campaigner the younger ones can turn to if needed.”

On the European front, the Guardian’s Paolo Bandini reviews week one in Serie A, shedding praise on Ronaldinho. “All, however, are united in praise for Ronaldinho. After providing the cross from which Massimo Ambrosini headed home Milan’s equaliser in the first half, Ronaldinho quite simply dominated the second. Pushed further wide on the left as Milan adjusted from 4-3-2-1 to 4-2-3-1, and granted far more support going forward as Gianluca Zambrotta was switched across from the right side of defence, he breezed past Cristian Zenoni again and again as he fizzed one delivery after another across the six-yard box.”

Sid Lowe (Guardian), reporting on the weekend that was in La Liga, notes the personal triumph of Numancia’s goalscorer Mario, whose strike downed Barcelona. “Mario is the worst paid player in primera. He’s got the carefully crafted spiky front and mullet back combo, he’s got a red Audi, and he’s got the CK boxers, tight Versace T-shirt and gold chain but he lives at home with his little brother and his mum, who runs the local false leg and fake hip emporium. He gets paid €120,000 a year. That’s 83 - eight-three - times less than Raúl, 75 times less than Samuel Eto’o. The same Raúl and Eto’o who, unlike Mario, didn’t score yesterday as Real Madrid and Barcelona lost on the opening day for the first time since 1939, Atlético Madrid went top four years on, and Valencia stuffed Mallorca to go second. Thierry Henry earns more in a week - almost twice as much more, in fact - than Mario does in a year.”

In an interesting article, The Telegraph report on how the UK compares to Europe when nurturing football talent. “FRANCE: Alongside club academies are several regional elite centres, most famously at Clairefontaine, where the best players spend the week refining their skills before rejoining their clubs at the weekend. It is estimated that between the ages of 12 and 16, a boy attending a French academy receives more than 2,300 hours of training time, twice as much as in England.”

Jack Bell (New York Times) reports on America’s first trip to Cuba this weekend since 1947. “The United States national team has not played in Cuba since 1947, when it lost, 5-2, in Havana. (In 1991, a United States under-21 team participated in the Pan American Games in Cuba.) An economic, commercial, travel and financial embargo imposed on Fidel Castro’s Cuba in February 1962 remains in effect, to varying degrees, and American citizens still face travel restrictions.”