Football must not be detached from its roots as was the case with Manchester City Lahm
Do we have to reassessManchester Citynow? In my columns, I have repeatedly engaged with this club and its key figures.
Looking back at what I have written over the years, I believe it remains beyond question that the team have achieved greatness. I always loved watching them: they were a true unit on the pitch, a finely tuned orchestra.
I would also write all over again that the conductor, Pep Guardiola, masters his craft like few others. I could recognise his teams even if they were wearing the wrong shirts and the game was broadcast in black and white - by the passes, the distances between the players and the intelligence of their interplay.
It is no wonder Guardiola inspires others to become managers; look at Vincent Kompany, Mikel Arteta, Enzo Maresca, and perhaps some time Ilkay Gündogan and Rodri. As a player and a columnist, I never had an issue with Manchester City.
Precisely because, for many years, the club avoided buying the most obvious superstars. Guardiola said it himself: the most valuable of the valuable do not go to a club like City, who aren't even the biggest football brand in their own home town.
Many became world stars in Manchester. Kevin De Bruyne had been discarded by Chelsea, Rodri's true class was overlooked in Madrid for a long time, Gündogan's career was on the brink after injuries, and most recently Gianluigi Donnarumma was no longer wanted in Paris.
In Germany, City signed players from Hamburg, Frankfurt and Wolfsburg. Erling Haaland in 2022 was the first player they targeted who was also pursued by Bayern Munich.
City did not operate like Paris Saint-Germain did in the era before Luis Enrique. From the outside, City fundamentally did not do much differently from the other 10 or so top European clubs.
But what are achievements on the pitch worth if they are accompanied by rule-breaking? The clubhas been found guiltyof breaching the Premier League's financial regulations between 2009 and 2018.