TOTAL OUTLAY Sheikh Mansour £1.2bn Roman Abramovich £2bn When Samir Nasri completed a £23m move from Arsenal to Manchester City in August 2011, his arrival at the Etihad Stadium took Sheikh Mansour’s investment in the club through the £1bn barrier in terms of signings, wages, infrastructure costs and the £210m required to take control in September 2008. With a state-of-the-art training ground close to completion and big money buys arriving in the three years since, the Sheikh has plunged approximately £1.2bn into the club. Roman Abramovich’s investment in Chelsea since July 2003 has now gone beyond £2 billion, however, due to outlay on players, wages, training ground construction and numerous managerial compensation packages. BIGGEST SIGNING Sergio Aguero £38m Fernando Torres £50m A tale of two former Atletico Madrid strikers, with one proving to be a bargain and the other going down as one of the game’s biggest flops. Although Carlos Tevez reportedly cost City an eventual £47m, Sergio Aguero is listed as the club’s record signing at £38m and the Argentine has delivered the goods since his 2011 arrival from Atletico, with his title-winning goal in May 2012 securing his legendary status. Fernando Torres has been equally unforgettable at Chelsea since his £50m move from Liverpool in January 2011, scoring just 20 goals in three-and-a-half years being loaned out to AC Milan this summer. BARGAINS David Silva £24m Petr Cech £7m Amid the lavish spending by both owners, there have been some bargains unearthed. City’s £24m move for Valencia’s David Silva in the summer of 2010 may have appeared excessive at the time, but the Spain midfielder has become one of the most consistently effective players in the Premier League and, to some City fans, the club’s best-ever player. But while Silva has been value for money, Petr Cech could be described as the bargain of the century having been signed for just £7m from Rennes in 2004. The Czech goalkeeper has become a Stamford Bridge icon after helping the club win every major honour. WASTE OF MONEY? Emmanuel Adebayor £25m Managerial pay-offs £60m Many will point to the £32.5m spent on Robinho as Sheikh Mansour’s biggest mistake, but the Brazilian’s fee was repaid instantly merely by the publicity his move from Real Madrid generated. Emmanuel Adebayor became a controversy magnet following his £25m move from Arsenal, but his strike-rate did not eclipse the negative headlines and City spent three trying to get rid of him. But in terms of money down the drain, Abramovich has racked up a bill of £60m in managerial compensation after dispensing with the services of seven managers during his reign as owner. COST PER TROPHY Man City £240m (5) Chelsea £154m (13) Including Community Shields, Roman Abramovich leads Sheikh Mansour on the trophy count with 13 compared to the City owner’s five. City’s cost-per-trophy is almost £90m higher than Chelsea’s although Abramovich’s investment has been greater over a longer period of time. Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League success gives Abramovich the real edge, however, with the Russian’s money securing club football’s biggest prize – a trophy which has so far eluded Sheikh Mansour.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 07:15:11 +0000