Manchester City went through one of the biggest changes that the world of football has ever seen.
Indeed, 2008 had seen everything change for the Citizens as they were bought by Sheik Mansour. Of course, Chelsea were the first team in England to have essentially proved that wealthy people could have success when spending excessive amounts in the Premier League in 2003 when Roman Abramovich purchased the Stamford Bridge club.
However, the ensuing 10 years that followed on from Sheik Mansour’s purchase of Manchester City brought some incredible success to the blue-half of Manchester and has since seen them eclipse their biggest rivals, Manchester United.
Former club captain Richard Dunne was one of the few individuals who witnessed the change to the side over the years, as he had spent eight years with the Citizens before the acquisition.
In those eight years, he had been involved in one relegation, one promotion and three bottom-half finishes in the Premier League. However, from 2008, they would be going on to compete with the likes of United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal regularly for the Premier League title that has continued to make them favourites with bookmakers like Betway.
Speaking to Betway, Dunne said of playing in the Manchester derby: “When I was playing, it meant everything to City fans. For us, it was the biggest game of the year
“Manchester United were competing with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool for the Premier League. Manchester City was just another game.
“But it then became a title decider almost. It was no longer a just a derby that meant a lot to City and not so much to United.
“Maybe as a City fan, you might have feared the derby in previous years thinking: ‘We might get hammered here’, to then relishing it.
“From it being just a big game for City to a title challenge in a couple of years was a huge difference in mindset for both sets of fans and both sets of players.
“It had that period where the game meant everything and not just in terms of local bragging rights.”
Of course, there have been some superstar players to have played for Manchester City in the Manchester derby over the years, with the likes of Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany having been key figures in the past, whilst men like Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne continue to remain vital.
The Citizens have also been able to attract some of the best managers in football as well throughout time, with men like Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini have proved successful at points.
Indeed, they have had more success whilst Pep Guardiola has been at the helm and their record in the Manchester derby certainly makes for interesting reading.
The Spaniard has lost three of the five matches he has come up against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, but with Manchester United crashing out of the UEFA Champions League this week, perhaps Guardiola can guide his own side to victory as they get their Premier League campaign kick-started once and for all this season.
