Source: SKY_Sports
City won't be spending crazy
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak has reiterated that the club will not be paying 'crazy money' for any player this summer.[LNB] Thanks to their takeover by Sheikh Mansour last year, City have emerged as one of the most financially powerful clubs in world football.[LNB]Within 24 hours of their takeover of the club, Mansour helped to finance the signing of Robinho for a British record £32.5million.[LNB]But Khaldoon insists that every deal City have done, and will do, will only be sanctioned if it is right for them.[LNB]"There are two things going on. One, a general view of Arab investors and two, a whole hierarchy within football where there is a group of clubs that fall within the hierarchy and the clubs that fall outside don't have a seat at the table and shouldn't even demand one," he told Abu Dhabi based newspaper The National.[LNB]"I'm frustrated with people assuming we are going to throw crazy money at deals, that we won't understand true values and we can't negotiate or get value for a player. We've had numbers thrown at us that are a joke.[LNB]"There are situations where a £10million player will be offered to us for a 'City price' of £20million.[LNB]"We just leave because at that point there's no point arguing - if people are throwing crazy numbers at us, fine, deals won't be done.[LNB]"Look at Sheikh Mansour; he's a very shrewd businessman who has conducted himself in a professional way. I will defend the value of every deal we have done. [LNB]"Look at our Robinho deal. If he went in this transfer window for the same price [£32.5m] it would be a steal. Our deals to date presented fair value to the clubs we brought them from, fair value to us and are typical of the type of deals we are looking to make."[LNB]FrustrationKhaldoon is frustrated that the likes of Real Madrid are seemingly taken more seriously in the transfer market.[LNB]"When we looked at Kaka, the numbers being thrown around were crazy, suddenly in the news you see 'City are crazy' and 'City are irresponsible'," he continued.[LNB]"Why is it when Real Madrid not only talks about but actually closes two deals, like the ones they've closed with the numbers they've committed to, it's fine?"[LNB]He also revealed that while they will add up to half-a-dozen players, a number of departures would also be seen.[LNB]"We will shrink our squad and add four to six players," he said.[LNB]"Key for us is that we trust Mark (Hughes) and any acquisition is based on his view.[LNB]"Our transfer process is very simple, we have Mark and his team who take football decisions, we have Gary Cook and myself on the management side and Sheikh Mansour as the owner.[LNB]"Mark decides on gaps in the squad and makes recommendations on players that would fill the gaps. [LNB]"He comes to me and gives me option A, B or C for a certain position. With each player there's a different value and it's up to us to work with Sheikh Mansour, determine a budget and see which player fits best."[LNB]He also insists that the signing of Robinho was essential to helping establish City's new presence on the world stage.[LNB]"It was a statement of intent from Sheikh Mansour; he bought the club and bought in a top-notch player that Chelsea were on the verge of signing," he said.[LNB]"It was crazy, put it that way. He was not metres away - I would say inches away from signing for Chelsea and that arrangement with Robinho was a huge coup for us.[LNB]"First we got Robinho and he was followed by four other players," said the chairman. [LNB]"The key for us in the January transfer window was to bring balance to the squad."[LNB]
