Manchester City: Bigger Than Manchester United—Did Pellegrini Have a Point?
Not known for displays of pre-match bombast, Manuel Pellegrini stole the headline on the eve of Manchester City’s UEFA Champions League encounter with Barcelona.
Invited to assess the contrasting fortunes of Manchester’s clubs this season, Pellegrini stated City are now “bigger” than bitter rivals United, as reported by The Guardian.
Given his astonishing attack on referee Jonas Eriksson in the wake of the 2-0 loss to Barca—an outburst reported by BBC Sport that questioned both the official’s integrity and the standing of his native Sweden in world football—the normally placid Chilean might want to avoid whatever it was he had for breakfast last week.
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But with City having established themselves as a major power in English football on the back of Sheikh Mansour’s phenomenal wealth, Pellegrini’s former remarks will continue to resonate.
The Blues aim to complete the full set of domestic trophies during the Mansour era when they take on Sunderland in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday.
Against this backdrop, maybe it is worth asking whether City are now, or soon could be, bigger than United.
Using the measurements many football fans understandably fall back on, the short and logical answer is no.
Manchester United’s phenomenal trophy haul under Sir Alex Ferguson established them as the lone superpower in English football’s modern era.
When City’s Etihad Stadium is expanded to 62,000 seats in 2015, it will still be dwarfed by the behemoth across town.
United can already pack 76,000 into Old Trafford and continue to do so despite their ailing fortunes under David Moyes. Admittedly, this might change if they keep threatening to ban season ticket holders for missing Champions League games, as per the Manchester Evening News.
But how likely is it that Pellegrini was referring to fanbase size when labelling City as bigger than their neighbours? It is worth remembering the quote that captured global attention came via an interpreter.
The translation hit upon an emotive word, especially in such a proud and partizan football city. Pellegrini freely mentioned United's decorated recent past in the same breath and cast a glance towards City's potentially decorated future. A bigger future, some might say.
City are inarguably better placed than their crosstown rivals right now, in contention for an unprecedented domestic treble.
Moyes’ men face the prospective double blow of no silverware and no Champions League football following Tuesday night’s humiliating reverse at Olympiacos. City are likely to be the bigger threat to Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and the rest next season.
Whether or not United secure a top four place in the Premier League this term, a substantial rebuilding operation is set to take place this summer.
As reported by Chris Wheeler of The Daily Mail Moyes will be armed with a substantial transfer war chest and tasked with building the next great United team.
The reasonable question to ask here is whether the Scot has shown himself to be up to such a task.
Alongside fresh-faced chief executive Ed Woodward, Moyes presided over public failures to secure Ander Herrera, Cesc Fabregas and Leighton Baines, as per Ian Herbert of the Independent. Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata arrived but for massively inflated fees.
Wayne Rooney has a place at the centre of the rebuilding operation—a £300,000 per-week contract and an inside line to the club's transfer dealings, the reward for twice pondering whether his future might be better spent elsewhere, as discussed by The Guardian's Daniel Taylor.
Meanwhile, Jamie Jackson of the same newspaper reports Rooney's strike partner and the architect of last season’s triumph, Robin van Persie, is eyeing pastures new.
United supporters rightfully chortled when City regularly paid over the odds in the aftermath of their takeover and outspoken former chief executive Garry Cook informed BBC Sport that AC Milan had "bottled" a deal to sell them Brazilian superstar Kaka. Now they find uncomfortable parallels on their own doorstep.
Carlos Tevez’s career at City—an unqualified success on the pitch—lurched from transfer requests to withering assessments of Manchester before taking a six-month sojourn in his homeland.
Never would you see such nonsense at Old Trafford. That was not how the biggest club in the world built its empire. Yet now they must ponder their feelings over Rooney’s windfall and enhanced status.
Only 18 months ago, City made a horrific mess of their summer transfer business.
Having missed out on major targets, namely Van Persie as per The Daily Mirror, an unseemly deadline day version of Supermarket Sweep was hastily launched.
Javi Garcia, Scott Sinclair, Maicon, Matija Nastasic and Richard Wright all arrived. The league title was lost by 11 points.
But if Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano’s first year steering City’s business is anything to go by, the Eastlands faithful can be optimistic.
In Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic, they acquired high class with the minimum of fuss. Last month, The Daily Mail reported they baulked at Porto’s asking price for Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando, demonstrating that City no longer wish to pay completely crazy fees on account of their phenomenal wealth.
Even so, throwing money around is regularly frowned upon as an end itself at Manchester United.
Ferguson might have smashed numerous transfer records during his time at the helm, but a local nucleus remained. Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, the Neville brothers; that was the United way.
As such, another uncomfortable reality may lie some way down the road. Vast investment into the City Football Academy, due to open this summer, is at the heart of City’s plans to promote high class from within.
If anywhere in Manchester produces the next string of first-teamers nurtured through the ranks, it is likely to be the Etihad Campus.
City will not replace United as Manchester's biggest club any time soon. Unfortunately for those at Old Trafford, other role reversals are flashing past with alarming frequency.
The challenge for City is to reap the rewards of these changes, starting this Sunday. If they can entrench them over the coming months and years, statements such as Pellegrini's will raise fewer eyebrows.
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