Petrodollars and Oligarchs

5 September 2008

New York (Chinatown Newswire) — Football’s undisputed status as the global game was demonstrated in spectacular fashion earlier this week when the ruling family of Abu Dhabi purchased English Premier League outfit Manchester City from its previous owner, the exiled former Prime Minister of Thailand.

Within hours of putting pen to paper, City’s new masters then hijacked Chelsea’s (a London club owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich) proposed move for Brazilian star Robinho, shattering the British transfer record in the process.

It is probably too early to try and speculate where all this might eventually lead to but according to the International Herald Tribune, British secretary of state for culture, media and sport Andy Burnham already predicted that the English Premier League would soon become a wealth league for the 20 richest individuals on earth.