“Everything was suddenly there” – Player reveals how Manchester City transformed under owners, witnessed it first hand

Wolfsburg striker Lukas Nmecha has revealed how Manchester City almost transformed in front of his eyes following the takeover by Abu Dhabi.

The striker has been talking to Braunschweiger Zeitung about his career so far, which has seen him playing in England, Germany, and Belgium so far.

He initially started his career at Manchester City, working his way through the various youth ranks before making it to the first team set up in July 2019.

He would remain with the club until 2021 but would only make three first team appearances for the club, a low number given he managed 35 for the U21s, 16 for the U18s and 14 in the UEFA U19 setup.

He instead spent most of his time at the Etihad out on loan, playing for the likes of Preston, Middlesbrough, Anderlecht and Wolfsburg before eventually joining the latter on a permanent basis three years ago.

He may have not made it at the Etihad, but he did get to see the transformation following the takeover by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, and admits it was years of major change behind the scenes.

“I remember being very happy that there were school teams there,” he said when asked about his early days at Manchester City.

“I played there. And then there was a nice woman, her name was Mary, and she knew someone at Manchester City. I was then allowed to train with them and a short time later I was part of the team.

“When I started there, there was only one training ground. And there weren’t sessions every day, just two or three times a week. When the new training ground was built, everything was suddenly there, and it became highly professional.”