Sergio Aguero would not have been anywhere else. Manchester City’s all-time record goalscorer, still ebullient in this, the second year since his sudden retirement, wanted to witness, live in Istanbul, his old club’s crowning moment.
It sort of closed a circle. Aguero will always have his statue at the Etihad, always have the memory and the vivid soundtrack of the goal that dramatically sealed the first of City’s Premier League titles.
He will always have the love of the City supporters he was among in the Ataturk Stadium. But the last of his 390 matches in a City jersey had left something unfulfilled.
Aguero’s farewell to City was as a late substitute, bought on for a goal that never came the previous time City played in a Champions League final, when he collected a silver medal as Chelsea players kissed their golds.
Two years on, City have achieved the landmark they have aspired to for so long and have plotted so meticulously.
It is a moment to look back on the milestones that guided them to this summit, remember the likes of Aguero, Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho. Footballers who elevated a club who at the beginning of this century were yo-yoing between the divisions in English football, occasionally attracting a glamorous manager who would call them a ‘sleeping giant’ and then watch City doze off again.
The transformation over the last 15 years, through the clarity applied through most of the Abu Dhabi United Group’s period of ownership, now has its ultimate dividend, the one conspicuous gap on the honours board now filled.
The best team in Europe, by a distance, has lifted the most competitive tournament in club football, a turn of events not as common as logic says it should be.
Liverpool’s victory in the previous Istanbul final in 2005 was famously improbable. Chelsea were outsiders when they took on, and beat, on penalties, Bayern Munich in Bavaria in 2012. Real Madrid, last year’s winners, were very good at seizing moments in a series of knockout ties where they had mostly been inferior to the opposition, including City in the semi-final.
Chelsea were second-favourites to City at kick-off in Porto in 2021. By the end of it, Aguero, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling had all drawn blanks for a City who scored in all but five of their previous 60 matches that season.
That trio of gifted forwards would move on, part of the careful recycling process at an institution forever seeking incremental improvement. The version of City that now holds a treble has looked, for most of the run-in to the glittering climax to this season, an upgrade on even the finest, earlier sides of manager Pep Guardiola’s time in charge.
A new name is engraved on the big old trophy, in this, its 68th year. City’s is the first fresh entry on the European Cup’s roll of honour in 11 years, and only the second since Borussia Dortmund, in 1997, shocked Juventus in the final.
For all that outside investment has altered the landscape of European club football in the last 20 years, the trophy has proved again and again to be resistant to new winners, to be protective of its cartel of traditional superclubs.
Breaking into that closed circle needs financial muscle. But it needs to be used shrewdly too. The contrast between City and Paris Saint-Germain, hugely monied thanks to their backing from Qatar since 2011, is never more striking than now, as Guardiola reflects on his seven-year journey with City.
PSG, still seeking a first European Cup, are meanwhile embarking on the process of appointing a sixth different manager across the same period.
The latest to be pointed to the door in Paris, Christophe Galtier, is on his way having overseen the club’s second successive Champions League exit at the last-16 stage while the squad he was in charge of were receiving the highest combined salaries of any club in Europe. The greatest player to ever wear a PSG jersey, Lionel Messi, was booed by some home fans when he played his last match for them eight days ago.
Hard to imagine Aguero, Messi’s friend and compatriot, ever hearing that from City loyalists, among whom he was celebrating in Istanbul, with every reason to believe that, the drought broken, the club’s first European Cup will be part of a sequence.
One Premier League title, seized by Aguero’s last-gasp goal in 2012, became seven in the next dozen years. One Champions League title should become at least two or three for City by the end of this decade.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2
Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers
Opening fixtures
Thursday, December 5
6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles
7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers
7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles
7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2
Recent winners
2018 Dubai Hurricanes
2017 Dubai Exiles
2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Calendar 2018/19
July 29: OTA Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
Sep 22-23: LA Convention Centre in Los Angeles, US
Nov 16-18: Carioca Arena Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 420 bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: from Dh293,200
On sale: now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Race card
6.30pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Meydan Cup – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,810m
7.40pm: UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,600m
9.50pm: Meydan Classic – Conditions (TB) $$50,000 (T) 1,400m
9.25pm: Dubai Sprint – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,200m
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
RESULTS
Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.
Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.
Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.
Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0
Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.
Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
