Ex-Manchester leader defends deals with Man City owners

The erstwhile person of Manchester City Council has defended the council's narration with the owners of Manchester City amid questions implicit onshore deals. Sir Richard Leese, who served as head of the assembly for 25 years until 2021 and also holds the role of honorary president at the club, described the decade‑old arrangement with Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) as "good for the city". The relationship between the council and the entity owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has come under renewed scrutiny after Manchester City was found responsible for breaching Premier League financial rules through what the league termed "sham" commercial agreements. The club has denied any wrongdoing and is appealing the charges. In 2014 the council entered into a partnership with ADUG, creating a joint venture called Manchester Life. The venture aimed to invest more than £1bn over the following decade and deliver thousands of homes in the Ancoats and New Islington districts, close to the Etihad Stadium. A 2022 study by the University of Sheffield, titled Manchester Offshored, questioned the broader public value of the scheme and highlighted a lack of transparency regarding its finances. The report noted the absence of affordable housing in the projects and pointed out that the venture’s companies were ultimately controlled by ADUG through offshore‑registered firms. A 2015 agreement gave ADUG effective first refusal on land in Ancoats and New Islington. The Sheffield study argued that the land was leased to ADUG at rates "below comparable". Sir Richard said the 2015 deal was "brokered by the UK authorities with the UAE government". He added, "It was a clip erstwhile improvement in Manchester had stopped," noting the city was still recovering from the 2008 crash and the ensuing recession. He acknowledged criticism that the land had been sold too cheaply by the council but maintained that the value stemmed from Abu Dhabi’s involvement, which kick‑started development, especially in Ancoats. He stressed that all details were documented and processed through the council’s official channels, concluding that the deal had proven beneficial for Manchester. Abu Dhabi’s involvement with Manchester City began