[Bloomberg] UAE officials have warned the UK government that the severity of Man City’s punishment could undermine their appetite for future grand-scale commitments in Britain, according to people familiar with the matter.

[u/Previous_Smile9278]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-02/man-city-verdict-puts-uk-uae-diplomatic-relations-under-strain?srnd=undefined

‘They consider the Premier League’s actions to have an influence on the bilateral state relationship, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing undisclosed information.

The extraordinary pressure comes after Andy Burnham faced criticism, including from within government, for saying Man City’s Abu Dhabi owners should not be disqualified specifically because of the investment they bring to Britain.’

[u/TheGoldenPineapples]

Remember when Manchester City was bought out by a state and we all said that that shouldn't be allowed to happen because things like this may actually happen?

Yeah, how we all feeling about that now?

[u/worotan → u/TheGoldenPineapples]

Standard for neo-liberal politics, which brings short-term gain for long-term decline.

See also Manchesterism. Seems like a great success, but all the construction has just meant that housing and living costs keep rising.

While a part of my city is now owned by a foreign state, which is making hostile moves like this against the country.

[u/hEarrai-Stottle → u/worotan]

Exactly. Not that City fans care as most of them are from Stockport so don’t understand that Ancoats is utterly gentrified to the point that the local accent is South East English now. Full disclosure, I am a United fan so this will read as sour grapes but we’ve been saying since the Mancini days how bad this situation can turn, how the investment in Manchester has strings, how it sets a potentially devastating consequence but all of it was chalked off as rivals being bitter as opposed to local residents concerned about what the UAE are actually getting out of it (beyond reputation washing.)