Manchester City chief Tom Glick says club have backed Pep Guardiola on tough and unpopular decisions and reveals plans for global domination
Goalkeeper Joe Hart was forced out on loan to Torino while midfielder Yaya Toure is exiled from the Premier League first team
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ON the 14th floor in their stunning offices you will find a perfect view of London.
For City Football Group chiefs, the vision goes beyond the capital. It goes beyond Manchester City. It goes global.
Just looking around the plush southern base for the company that oversees the Premier League leaders gives the impression of a blue-chip business organisation rather than a football club.
The glass lifts take visitors past social media giant Facebook and High Street heavyweight Debenhams. CFG sits above them in a setting that shows it means business.
In a meeting area, Tom Glick is telling a small number of fans what the future holds for City.
Glick, City’s chief commercial officer, could be conducting a talk for a multinational.
The American sensibly discusses why third-party ownership is wrong and the hurdles ahead for a global league.
And more importantly to supporters, how Pep Guardiola has lifted the expectations.
Glick said: “He has really excited the whole organisation and there is a great deal of belief. But we all remind ourselves — and he reminds us through the media as well as directly — that we haven’t done anything yet.
“It doesn’t matter what we do now unless we finish it up with silverware.”
Guardiola has made his mark already, with ten straight wins at the start of the season and the ruthless axing of Joe Hart and Yaya Toure.
Glick said: “He is also willing to take some tough or unpopular decisions early.
“He had an idea of what was needed to accomplish the objectives we all have.
“We have won some head-to-head battles because players want to play for Pep. They are staying because they want to play and they are coming.”
Guardiola was surely impressed on first viewing the offices. But to a non-football fan it would be difficult to pick out City from other clubs under the CFG umbrella when looking around the London HQ. New York City, Melbourne City and Yokohama F Marinos are given equal exposure.
Next on the list is likely to be a Far East club, particularly after investment from a Chinese consortium last year.
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Glick explained: “Maybe we’ll have a Chinese Super League club there. Our chairman has been quite explicit about being open to other clubs and we think the natural evolution will be there.”
And that is their aim — to have fans around the world all supporting “City”.
He added: “In 2012 the organisation pivoted again when (chief executive) Ferran Soriano arrived. He said it was not just relevant to have a high-performing Premier League club winning titles.
“What is relevant for football is to have a group of clubs under the City badge but with their own local identities, playing the same way.
“He said ‘This is what we’re going to do to differentiate us from other legacy clubs that we need to chase, who, at the moment, have more fans than we do’.”
Glick answered questions on problems such as third-party ownership. According to the BBC, Fifa looked at Eliaquim Mangala’s move from Porto to make sure no rules were broken.
Glick said: “It is a bad idea for players. They ultimately need the flexibility and control over their careers.
“If you imagine a club and an agency who both have a piece of the pie and the best thing for the player is to move to another club but the third party says he is worth more, it is a roadblock to progressing his career.”
A global league is also in sharp focus, although Glick reckons it would prove difficult to launch.
He said: “Every country has their own interest, Uefa has their own interest, so I think it is difficult to pull off.
“I don’t think it will happen any time soon.”
City are going global without it.
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