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Roman’s empire strikes back at City [Edition 2]

0 Comments | Sunday Telegraph, The; London (UK), Jul 25, 2010 | by Rory Smith

AS ROBERTO Mancini diligently faced questions from the American media on the eve of the New York exhibition, which forms the centrepiece of Manchester City’s pre-season, his audience evidently extended further than the five boroughs. “It is only City who move the market,” said the Italian. Somewhere in Moscow, Roman Abramovich must have been listening with intent.

This was supposed to be City’s summer, City’s season. The cartel which had monopolised access to the Champions League for so long was crumbling. Manchester United refused to strengthen their squad. Arsenal stood at risk of losing their captain and totem. Liverpool were in hock and on sale. None seemed in a position of strength to fight the rising light blue tide.

Enter Abramovich, the defender of the status quo. Only Chelsea have the funds to refuse to buckle to City’s petrodollar hegemony. The man who drew the template followed by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan as he attempted to turn a fading football force into a superpower had evidently decided to fight back. Less than 48 hours after Mancini spoke, he moved. The market shook.

A Pounds 20million fee with Benfica for the Brazilian international Ramires, widely regarded as one of Europe’s brightest prospects, had been agreed, and a deal was likely to be signed off next week. Abramovich’s emissaries have also lodged a Pounds 27million bid with the Portuguese club for Ramires’s countryman, David Luiz.

The latter will have come as particularly sanguine news for Mancini and his Emirati backers. Luiz featured on City’s potential list of targets, though sources at Eastlands insisted their intention was always to sign Aleksandar Kolarov, the Serbian international for whom a Pounds 17million deal was completed yesterday, or the Brazilian, not both.

Regardless, City have grown accustomed to having things their own way in the transfer market over the last two years. Suddenly, Chelsea and Abramovich stand in their path.

The events of the last 48 hours are a likely vignette of the story of the summer. Two financial heavyweights trading gilded blows as they attempt to wrestle control of football’s most desirable trinkets. If both get it right, it may provide the story of the season.

Abramovich, comparatively cautious in the transfer market since the abortive signing of Andrei Shevchenko in 2006, has been forced to rethink his desire to make Chelsea self-sufficient, despite witnessing Carlo Ancelotti’s team win both the Premier League and the FA Cup last season. For years, Chelsea have been told they require an overhaul. They finally seem to be getting one.

City can take solace in the fact that their lavish spending in recent years has made that an expensive business. Yossi Benayoun has already arrived at Chelsea, for Pounds 5million, as well as the young Czech defender Tomas Kalas for a similar fee, though he will spend this season on loan at Sigma Olomouc. Ramires will join them next week, and Luiz is likely to follow. Another Pounds 47million should the deals go through.

A Pounds 16million bid has already been rejected by the Brazilian club Santos for their hugely gifted forward Neymar, but should the west London club augment that offer by around Pounds 5million, the 18 year-old will be theirs.

And then, of course, there is Fernando Torres. The Spanish striker remains undecided on his future at Liverpool, but the coquettish glances continue to come from Stamford Bridge. Fifty million? Pounds 60million? More? If that founders, Ancelotti has made no secret of his desire to be reunited with Kaka
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