Robinho debut is loaded with irony

City preview

THE Premier League’s two richest clubs go head to head at Eastlands tomorrow (5.30pm) when Manchester City entertain Chelsea.

City’s new mega-wealthy Arab owners could not have picked a more fascinating first fixture which promises to capture headlines on and off the pitch.

The huge personal fortune of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has suddenly been dwarfed by the £500billion boasted by the Abu Dhabi United Group For Development and Investment.

Within hours of taking charge at City the group, the financial arm of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family, flexed their financial muscles by splashing out a British-record £32.5million for Brazilian superstar Robinho.

To add spice to tomorrow’s game, they snatched Robinho from under the noses of Chelsea who had looked odds-on favourites to sign the Real Madrid man.

For the first time since Abramovich took charge of Chelsea five years ago, the Russian has a rival owner with more financial clout.

Frontman Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim has already spoken of their “deep pockets” and there have been suggestions they may be prepared to invest £450million into the City team with the aim of making them the biggest club in the world.

The media interest in tomorrow’s game is such that the events at Eastlands will be of global fascination.

After all the hype and publicity surrounding the takeover, City manager Mark Hughes will be relieved to finally have a fixture following a fortnight’s break.

But the takeover has upped the ante for Hughes who has certainly had a roller-coaster start to his City career.

Barely a month ago, Hughes was reportedly threatening to quit cash-strapped City, who looked as though they would have to sell players to foot their wage bill.

But now the club is dripping with cash and Hughes will be expected to deliver for new owners who are demanding a top-four finish and a Champions League place for next season.

And not satisfied with that, they are talking about winning the Premier League in 2009/10.

It won’t be easy preparing for tomorrow’s match, especially as four of his main players - Brazilians Robinho, Jo and Elano and Argentina’s Pablo Zabaleta - have been away in South America playing World Cup qualifiers.

In an effort to get them back to Manchester quickly after their games on Wednesday, the club has spent £140,000 to charter an aircraft.