Manchester City's transfers between 2009 and 2018 have come under scrutiny again following accusations against the club by regulatory bodies.
Sergio Agüero
Club: Barcelona
Mundo Deportivo revealed the real reason behind Atlético Madrid's agreement to sell Sergio Agüero to Manchester City for a lower value than Real Madrid's offer, during the period when the English club's accounts were under investigation.
The Premier League announced that an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of serious breaches of financial rules over nine seasons, as well as most charges related to failing to cooperate with the investigation.
The report indicated that Gil Marín, Atlético Madrid's CEO, feared that Agüero's move to Real Madrid would cause significant fan outrage, especially since the Argentine striker was one of the team's key stars at the time.
For this reason, Gil Marín traveled to the United States to meet Khaldoun Al-Mubarak, Manchester City's chairman, who was there alongside Brian Marwood, the club's sporting director at the time.
During a meeting held in a restaurant, negotiations for Agüero's transfer to Manchester City began, and the two parties reached the initial terms of the agreement.
As the necessary documents were not available during the meeting, the outlines of the preliminary agreement were written on a tablecloth, an incident that has become part of the story of Agüero's move to Manchester City.
According to the report, Atlético Madrid's reduction of Agüero's sale price was not linked to any financial arrangements from Manchester City, but rather stemmed from Gil Marín's desire to avoid a fan crisis within the club.
At the time, Atlético was going through a less stable phase than its current situation, making Agüero's move to Manchester City a more suitable option than his departure to rivals Real Madrid.
The report links this incident to Atlético Madrid's stance regarding Julián Álvarez last summer, after the club refused to sell its striker to Barcelona, one of its direct competitors.
Agüero moved to Manchester City for €36 million, plus €4 million in add-ons, although Real Madrid was prepared to pay the release clause in his contract, which amounted to €45 million.
The Argentine striker had agreed to move to Real Madrid, but the intervention of Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, Atlético Madrid's CEO, prevented the deal from being completed.
The period under investigation spans nine years between 2009 and 2018, during which Manchester City was accused of concealing the true state of its accounts from auditors and regulators by inflating certain sponsorship deals and hiding some expenses.
Manchester City has until Friday to appeal against these charges.
Consequently, all Manchester City transfers made during the investigated period are subject to review, including Agüero's move from Atlético Madrid to the English club.
