Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams fears that the existence of the City Football Group (CFG) has led to a situation where the Premier League champions have started “stockpiling” players.
Limits were placed on loans in order to stop teams from hoarding talent but Adams says CFG (with its network of feeder clubs) has helped the Cityzens maintain their dominance in terms of player recruitment:
“I think you’ve got to be careful. I don’t want Man City to win it [the league] for the next 10 years and at the moment they are stockpiling.”
“They have a lot of players on their books in many different countries. I think the Premier League have to look at the loan system to maybe stop them stockpiling. Maybe something to do with their development because the Premier League development league is not really a development league in this country. It’s coming from the feeder leagues of Belgium, France, Spain and South America.”
“I think the league, more importantly, need to look at that so Man City don’t keep rolling it around. We’ve spent £200m here at Arsenal just to get near them and you can’t keep doing that.”
Other clubs have started building their own networks
It’s unfair of Adams to single out the City Football Group. Chelsea (with Blueco) have started to create their own network of teams (having already bought Strasbourg). Fenway Sports Group are intending to do the same with Liverpool.
City were simply ahead of the game, having started with New York City FC ten years ago and moved on to acquiring stakes in 12 other teams since then.
City’s dominance of the Premier League has little to do with CFG
The irony is that Financial Fair Play laws have actually forced the Cityzens down this multi-club ownership path. They have become incredibly self-sufficient as a result, making sizeable profits in recent years.
Having a strong organisation in place behind the scenes certainly benefits the team, but it’s the players and the manager who have the biggest impact on results. Without Pep Guardiola and the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, the club would not have been as successful as they have been over the last decade.
