Khaldoon al-Mubarak’s hard-line City strategy puts Abu Dhabi in an awkward spot

A rare misstep in a carefully managed role

Khaldoon al-Mubarak is used to balancing relationships between Abu Dhabi and Western governments. But his forceful approach to Manchester City’s financial case may have proved an unusually risky move, according to an analysis of his role and the club’s dispute with football authorities.

Al-Mubarak’s public and private positions on City have been notably defiant. Leaked correspondence published by Der Spiegel, cited in the reporting, attributed to City lawyer Simon Cliff a 2014 account of al-Mubarak saying he would rather spend £30m on lawyers and fight Uefa for a decade than accept a financial penalty. City and Paris Saint-Germain ultimately accepted sanctions at the time, including fines and transfer restrictions.

Sale talk remains conjecture

City are appealing an independent commission’s finding that the club committed multiple breaches of financial rules. The prospect that Abu Dhabi could eventually sell the club has been raised by Christopher Davidson, author of Abu Dhabi, Oil and Beyond, who said he had been told that a departure could follow the appeal. He argued that a quiet exit might limit reputational damage if the owners were eventually deemed unfit.

That remains a forecast, not a confirmed decision. Al-Mubarak said in June that “these sorts of jewels, you don’t sell” and expressed an “intention to keep growing this”. Davidson nevertheless suggested the club’s case could be a peripheral project within the wider Abu Dhabi portfolio, and said the disputed approach may reflect poor advice and a misreading of UK football politics.

Broader UK ties seen as resilient

Davidson played down the likelihood that the City dispute would derail wider commercial relations between the UK and Abu Dhabi. He pointed to investments outside al-Mubarak’s remit, including renewable-energy projects associated with Masdar and holdings by International Holding Company. He described it as “inconceivable” that those investments would be withdrawn.

The analysis also notes that the UK signed a free trade agreement in May with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which the government said could be worth £3.7bn a year to the UK economy. Davidson said the UAE had been a major force behind the agreement and saw no prospect that the City matter would interfere with it.

Al-Mubarak’s position therefore sits between two very different scales: the intensely scrutinised football dispute and Abu Dhabi’s broader diplomatic and economic relationships. The case may carry reputational consequences, but the reporting does not establish that the club will be sold or that wider UK-Abu Dhabi ties are at risk.