Abu Dhabi: Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has praised the work of the club’s Academy and believes that several could graduate to first team appearances soon.
Al Mubarak said on Wednesday in a video interview produced by the club: “The priority is to have players from that Academy graduate into the first team. That to me is far more important for Manchester City than winning silverware at Academy level and today I look at our Academy, we are doing great things across all age groups.”
“We are really in a very good place in terms of the development of the Academy and of the quality of players we have at the Academy. But what makes it special, this year particularly, is we have three or four players that we can genuinely believe have a very good chance of making it to the first team.”
The chairman, who a day ago quashed rumours that striker Sergio Aguero would be sold, said building a sustainable future for the club both financially and within the community was very important.
He believes that the main goal is to build a lasting legacy which he said Manchester City owner, Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, is committed to do.
“This club has to have a sustainable development strategy and that’s what we have built over the years and that’s what we have today.” Al Mubarak said. “We are financially very strong and continue to be profitable and we will continue to grow.”
Al Mubarak added: “We will continue to be in the fabric of this city [Manchester].”
He stated that the club has posted profits of £20.5 million (Dh96.7 million) for 2015-2016 and had a record year in 2016 in terms of revenue, generating £391.8 million.
Al Mubarak also applauded the success of the Manchester City’s women’s team after a very profitable season and believes that City are leading the way in terms of women’s football.
Al Mubarak said: “You look at the women’s team this year and they are doing everything we hoped for and more. They’ve won every domestic competition they’ve competed in, the League and the FA Cup in a remarkable way and playing some beautiful football, some very entertaining football and we are seeing fans, more and more fans be part of this game, supporting women’s team and that shows you we’re doing something right.
“We have gone further than any other English team in the history of the Champions League, we’ve reached the sem-finals of the Champions League, which is a remarkable achievement.”
Speaking about driving women’s football forward, Al Mubarak added: “I am very proud of that [being at the forefront of driving women’s football]. I think it’s an important statement by our club and it’s real and it’s got substance. You can say many things and I can give you nice big words about it, but at the end of the day, if we are serious, you see the results and we are serious and you are seeing the results.”
