Abu Dhabi's decision this week to sell its 11% stake in Barclays, a bank it bailed out only seven months ago, has provided Manchester City's owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with a £500m cash profit to play with.

Although the Eastlands club clearly has no money worries, it now has immediate access to vast cash fundsjust as the transfer window opens. That sort of financial agility will provide it with a priceless advantage over competitors in the market this summer and will also benefit selling clubs, who can request up-front payment in fullfor their players, as opposed to the normal practice of receiving fees in yearly stages.

Evidence of this was seen on Tuesday when Manchester City moved fast to secure Gareth Barry, the Aston Villa and England midfielder previously coveted by Liverpool and Arsenal. On the downside the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's previous claims that it was a long-term investor in Barclays sound remarkably similar to its stated intentions towards Manchester City.

Fans might feel they now have cause to fear Sheikh Mansour's treatment of their club but Abu Dhabi insiders point out that, unlike Barclays stock, Manchester City is hardly likely to attract a queue of institutional investors with pockets as deep as Sheikh Mansour's.