DUBAI- Pablo Zabaleta, former Manchester City defender and captain and former captain of Argentina's national team, said the secret to the success of Manchester City is the keenness of the club's owners to support and develop the team.

Since the club's ownership was transferred to the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment, chaired by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, in 2008, Manchester City achieved significant and consecutive successes, including the establishment of the City Football Group in 2013, which has expanded to include 11 clubs.

Zabaleta, who spent nine years with the club, playing 333 games and scoring 12 goals, told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) that the development plan of Manchester City’s owners was the main driver of the signing of one of the best coaches in the world, Pep Guardiola, who helped boost the team's performance significantly.

Zabaleta, 36, who retired in October 2020, stressed that Khaldoun Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Club, is always keen to travel to Manchester to meet with the team and that has had a positive impact on players’ performance.

Zabaleta, who is currently visiting Dubai and participating in an educational training camp for children, titled, "Football Skips", which is held annually in Jumeirah and many other parts of the world, expressed his happiness at being in Dubai, noting he spent three wonderful days in the emirate and participated for the first time in the camp.

He also highlighted the sense of wonder that Expo 2020 Dubai left in him, and noted that the scale of the expo is impressive, recommending everyone to visit the grand event.

 

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2021.