Noel Gallagher blown away in ’90-second’ meeting with Man City chief Al Mubarek | OneFootball

Huge Manchester City fan Noel Gallagher has revealed that he was blown away within 90 seconds of meeting Etihad supremo Khaldoon Al Mubarak back in 2008.

The 51-year-old City chairman, who was appointed to the role 18 years ago, has overseen the club becoming one of the biggest in Europe during his time in the hotseat.

Al Mubarak was placed in charge after Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan completed his takeover of Man City, while the appointment of Pep Guardiola in 2016 has taken the club to a completely different level.

Indeed, Guardiola is now in his 10th season in charge and is chasing a seventh Premier League title, after City leapfrogged Arsenal at the top of the table in midweek with only five games of the campaign remaining.

While Guardiola’s time at the club has been nothing short of remarkable, Gallagher had nothing but praise for the job Al Mubarak has done at City.

Indeed, the Oasis star has revealed that the Abu Dhabi businessman fulfilled every promise that he set out to Gallagher when they first met.

He told TNT Sports: “I remember getting taken to meet Khaldoon [Al Mubarak], the chairman, early on at a game, and when I met him after 90 seconds, I was like this is one of the most impressive men I’ve ever met in football.

“He was so eloquent in what was about to happen and so realistic and focused. Everything that he said they were going to do they’ve done times 10.”

Man City standards keep on rising

Meanwhile, Gallagher recalled a conversation with former Joleon Lescott early in Al Mubarak’s tenure about City being a dominant force for years to come, and he was clearly bang on in that observation.

Gallagher added : “I remember Joleon Lescott saying to me, after the first FA Cup win, your club is going to be in finals and semi-finals from now on and we said ‘one trophy will do us’. And he was right, every year the standards went up.

“They had this vision of what the club could be, and no one else did. People of my age, who kept that club going, followed them everywhere in the Third Division – there wouldn’t be a club to take over if it wasn’t for people like me and my generation.

“I just wanted a new kit. The kit we had at the time was awful. If we get a new kit and could somehow win the League Cup because Middlesbrough had won it, that would be enough for my lifetime. Nobody knew it was going to be like this.

“No one had that vision. They did, thankfully, and now we’re one of the powerhouses which is funny to think when me and the lads were jumping on the train to Macclesfield on a Friday night.”