The Manchester City manager Mark Hughes and several leading players, including his record British signing Robinho, are to visit Abu Dhabi as part of a campaign to promote the UAE capital by the club's new owners. Hughes and his team were formally invited to Abu Dhabi over the weekend as Manchester City faced their first game against Chelsea following the takeover by investors led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, which has dominated the football world in recent days.
While no date has yet been fixed, it is believed that Hughes and some of his players could be in the capital by the end of next month, depending on the team's fixture commitments. The new owners are also examining ways in which Manchester City players could be used commercially in promoting Abu Dhabi as they attempt to ensure that their investment brings benefits beyond football. The club also feel that a visit from the manager and players would help establish them within the region and develop a following among Gulf football fans.
Plans are already being made to ensure that City's youth teams take part in the annual Abu Dhabi youth tournament, one of the most competitive in the world. This year's participants included Athletico Madrid, Liverpool and several leading Brazilian teams. A Manchester City official said: "The manager and the players have had an invitation to visit Abu Dhabi and hopefully we will be able to arrange something very soon.
"Obviously we will have to look at the fixtures but we anticipate a short visit. It would be useful for both the club and the new owners. We are already working on plans for our youth teams to take part in a tournament in Abu Dhabi next year. This should just be the start of a long and fruitful relationship." Meanwhile Hughes revealed that following Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Chelsea, he hopes that some of the hysteria surrounding the club since the takeover was announced may now start to quell.
Robinho, Britain's costliest signing at £32.5million (Dh213m) signing, scored on his debut but Hughes warned that the result should serve as a reality check for some City fans. Hughes said: "It wasn't a reality check from our point of view. We are still very early in our development as a squad and a team. "But some people have got a little bit ahead of themselves and a little bit hysterical. We know the level we are at.
"Chelsea were excellent in the second half. They set traps for you. In the end, it was a fair result, we have no qualms about that." The Abu Dhabi takeover has still to be ratified by the English Premier League but was given an informal vote of confidence by the League's chief executive Richard Scudamore. Speaking on BBC radio, Scudamore said: "I know they are very decent business people and they want to do business in the right way. They want to do this with credibility. There is no point for any group from Abu Dhabi investing in English football and not enhancing their reputation in doing so.
"This money will not just be thrown at this without any sort of objectivity. I think it will be done properly, it will be done decently. If their ambition is to come in and win there is nothing wrong with that." @Email:vchaudhary@thenational.ae