Manchester City are one of the richest clubs in the world (Picture: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
Manchester City have become one of the most successful clubs in world football since their new owners took the reigns 16 years ago.
This is in no small part down to the vast amounts of money the club’s owner have plunged into City, which has helped lure some of the biggest talents in the game to the blue side of Manchester.
But a huge cloud now hangs over the club – and their unrivalled recent success – with the club in the dock over alleged financial fair play violations in the so-called ‘Trial of the Century’, which is now underway in an undisclosed location and is expected to last for ten weeks.
Should City be found guilty of any or all of the charges, the club could face a host of sanctions ranging from a heavy fine to a possible points deduction or even relegation from the Premier League.
But exactly who owns Manchester City, how much have they spent in transfer fees on players and how many trophies have the club won during the reign of their owners?
Who owns Man City?
Manchester City are owned by the Abu Dhabi-based Abu Dhabi United Group, anan investment company for the Abu Dhabi royal family, which is owned by Sheikh Mansour.
Sheikh Mansour is the top man at the Etihad (Picture: Francois Nel/Getty Images)
The group purchased the club for £200 million from Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, in September 2008.
Following his acquisition of Man City, Mansour handed over responsibility for running the club to Khaldoon Al Mubarak and the City Football Group (CFG).
The CFG acts as City’s parent company and also has stakes in clubs in the United States, Australia, India, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay, China, Belgium, France and Italy.
Mansour is a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi and is the current deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The 53-year-old’s brother, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the president of the UAE.
What is the net worth of Man City’s owners?
According to Goal.com, Manchester City’s owners have a net worth of around £16.8 billion.
This makes Manchester City the second richest club in the world behind Newcastle United, whose majority owners the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund are thought to be worth around £320 billion.
City have had unrivalled Premier League success over the past 16 years (Picture: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
How much have Man City’s owners spent on players?
Man City have spent around £1.6 billion on new signings under the Abu Dhabi United Group.
The biggest expenditure was the £100 million outlay on Jack Grealish in August 2021, which at the time was the biggest transfer fee in the history of British football.
Their very first signing came just hours after the owners completed their deal to buy the club, with the Cityzens signing Robinho from Real Madrid for a then-British record transfer fee of £32.5 million.
City haven’t been afraid to splash the cash on new players (Picture: Getty)
City have, by their own lofty standards, reigned in their spending in recent seasons, with a net spend of around -£140m in the last five seasons, placing them 11th on the list of Premier League clubs during that period.
How many trophies have Man City won under their owners?
Since the Abu Dhabi United Group took control, City have won 24 trophies, making them the most successful English team during that time.
Their domestic roll of honours includes eight Premier League titles, three FA Cups, six League Cups and four Community Shields.
Their crowning glory saw them win the Champions League in 2023, which was followed up by the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
Before the takeover, City had 12 honours to their name, with their last trophy coming in 1976 with the League Cup.
Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Share your views in the comments below