Defiance was the word that stood out as Manchester City returned home for the first time since they were found guilty of 114 financial charges by the Premier League in a case that's made headlines around the world.
City showed a measure of it on the pitch, even as they lost 4-2 to holders, Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain, in the Champions League group stages on Wednesday.
Among the home fanbase at the Etihad Stadium, DW found universal support for City's Abu Dhabi owners — headed by Sheikh Mansour, who is also UAE's vice president and deputy prime minister.
"I'm all in with the ownership now," said local fan Matt. "If we end up back in non-league, so be it. We've got 15 years of memories we wouldn't have otherwise and to me it's just an accounting line on a spreadsheet really."
Tarnished trophies?
The stadium name itself is a reminder of the takeover that changed this club, and its part of Manchester, in 2008. The national airline of the UAE, Etihad's inflated sponsorship of City is among the key planks of the case against them, while many buildings and businesses around the stadium bear the brand. It's a stadium that's also seen plenty of success of late.
"We've seen things other fans will never see," added fellow City fan Josh. "I think people have got to consider how many people this club has given great memories to, how many people's lives have been changed by it, myself included....you've got to be grateful for that."
Though many in sky blue shared those sentiments, most outside the club now view the trophies won in the relevant period as tarnished. On top of that, critics point to City's reticence in providing evidence in their case, the long-documented human rights abuses in UAE and the often dismissive tone with which the owners have dealt with being found guilty of charges they have now appealed.
UAE links have Burnham on back foot
But those City fans appear to have one powerful ally in British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Though he has since sought to tone down his position on Mansour and co. somewhat, the former mayor of Greater Manchester said he "would be really concerned to lose them," after the verdict was announced in late September. "They've been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester," he added.
While Burnham has since denied being close to City's ownership, even as City were playing on Wednesday, The Guardian reported a club representative was invited on a government-backed trade delegation to India this week by Burnham's successor as Manchester mayor, Bev Craig.
Earlier the same day, Burnham was forced to confirm he had two additional dinners with the club chair, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, at the Etihad Stadium, having previously declared those only as matchday hospitality. It has become a serious domestic issue for the man who replaced Keir Starmer in July.
What is clear is that Burnham welcomed Abu Dhabi investment during his time in charge of the northwestern city. This came mainly in the form of residential and commercial buildings as well as libraries and sports centers, all popping up in previously run-down areas in and around the stadium.
UAE build where others can't
Georgina Blakeley, a Professor at the University of Huddersfield who wrote a book called "The regeneration of east Manchester," told DW that UAE investment has transformed swathes of the city.
"One of the prime drivers for building this partnership with the Abu Dhabi United Group [a private equity arm of the state mostly concerned with the football club] was that at that point in time, 2014, there was no other private investor willing to invest at the scale that the council wanted. And to do so in a way that created a build-to-rent market," she said.
The UAE investment in Manchester, accelerated by the Manchester Life Partnership with the city's council signed in 2014, has been a key defense for the City owners and fans when faced with sportswashing allegations in the past. And while Blakeley believes councils in the UK are often forced to seek foreign investment, there has been some pushback on how east Manchester has changed.
"A lot of people would be critical of some of the developments in [the districts of] Ancoats and New Islington and say that it's gentrified the area and there are some tensions between newer populations coming in and living in the more expensive flats and those already there. I think there's some truth to it. But I also think there's some truth to the fact that people forget really, really quickly that if you go back to just the 1990s, Ancoats was a no-go area," she said.
While profit for both council and state have certainly been a driver of the partnership, Blakeley thinks that forging greater links to the community could be something City's owners see "as a beneficial side effect."
State-owned clubs starting to think smart despite concerns
After 18 years in the club and city, the UAE are deeply embedded in this part of Manchester. With political ties between the UK and UAE now reportedly strained as a result of the charges, there are suggestions that City's owners will try to sell the club. They may also be forced to do so, with sanctions still to be decided pending City's appeal.
There is no such trouble at PSG, who look capable of winning a third straight Champions League powered by their own Gulf-State coffers.
What is clear is that state-owned football clubs can become successful fast in a free market, as the Premier League was when the UAE owners arrived. Deep pockets, strong contacts at the top tables of the sport and canny strategies to integrate with the local area can be a heady mix.
It's certainly one that's proved intoxicating to City's fans, who brush off secret second contracts, sham sponsorship and unreliable witnesses with a loyalty built on success, community and investment. Judging by the mood in Manchester on Wednesday, no sanctions are going to change that.
Edited by: Jonathan Harding