The phone rang at 8 a.m., and the Manchester City communications official answered right away. A reporter was on the line, requesting comment on the news emanating from the Middle East that morning in 2008: that City, a Premier League soccer team with an unremarkable history and dust gathering in its trophy cabinet, had just been purchased by a wealthy Arab sheikh, the brother of the ruler of the United Arab Emirates.
“Have we?” the City official replied, apparently unaware that the deal that would transform City’s fortunes and upend European soccer had been finalized overnight. “I’m going to have to call you back.