Manchester City's stars were left fearing for their futures after the club's dramatic takeover by Sheikh Mansour back in 2008, Pablo Zabaleta has revealed.
The Argentine full-back was one of the last signings made by the club prior to the new owners, arriving just days before the buyout was confirmed.
It transformed City into one of the richest clubs in world football almost overnight, and they immediately smashed the British transfer record, spending £32.5m on Real Madrid's Robinho.
And Zabaleta admits it had City's players joking about which other world stars would be joining them in Manchester, but fearing how long they'd last themselves.