The UAE is one of the world’s richest countries, with its seven monarchies owning sovereign wealth funds worth in excess of $2 trillion.
In September, Manchester City Football Club, owned by Emirati royal and vice-president Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nayhan, was found to have breached 114 Premier League financial rules by disguising more than £830m ($1.1bn) in illicit funding. The club denies the claims.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is at the heart of the storm, having served as Manchester mayor from 2017 until June, during which time Emirati cash transformed both Manchester City football club and the wider city.
The UAE also has stakes elsewhere in the Premier League. In 2004, the airline Emirates, owned by the government of Dubai, purchased naming rights to Arsenal’s home ground, now called the Emirates Stadium, and the club’s shirt sponsorship for £100m. The deal was renewed in August until 2033 for an undisclosed fee.
Besides owning Manchester City football club, the UAE also owns lucrative property developments across the city. Among the largest is Manchester Life, a glitzy, mixed-use regeneration project in Manchester’s Ancoats area launched in 2014 in a deal between Manchester City Council and the Abu Dhabi United Group reportedly worth £1bn.
Abu Dhabi also invested an undisclosed figure in Manchester’s Co-Op Live arena, through its 81 percent share of the City Football Group, which in turn owns 47.5 percent of the UK’s largest indoor venue.
DP World, the Dubai government’s ports and logistics giant, owns London Gateway and Southampton, the UK’s second and third largest shipping terminals by container volume. The London site was approved for a £1bn expansion by the government in 2024.