The club started the season under the private ownership of UK Sports Investments Limited (UKSIL), a company controlled by former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but it was announced on the morning of Monday 1 September 2008 (the last day of the summer transfer window) that Abu Dhabi-based Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited (ADUG) had completed a takeover of Manchester City in a deal worth a reported £200 million.

This transaction made Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan the new owner of the club, although initially he kept a very low profile and Dr. Sulaiman Al-Fahim, who was the board member of ADUG that had presided over the signing of the deal at the Emirates Palace Hotel, was widely believed to be the new owner and potential chairman of the club.

However, before the takeover was finally completed, wealthy backer Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan became more prominent and it was eventually made clear that Al-Fahim would not be joining the board at Manchester City, with Khaldoon Al Mubarak being appointed as the club's new chairman.

[3] A striking new "blaze orange"/navy third kit completed the collection of kits, while the team's main home strip shed the previous season's thin white vertical stripes from the shirts and returned to the solid sky blue shirts that are more traditionally associated with the team.

of straight red cards" Yellow and red cards for the 2 domestic cups only accounted for in the TOTALS columns *** indicates 3-match ban for violent conduct towards Rory Delap in PL game against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on 31 January 2009 Information current as of 24 May 2009 (end of season) Last updated: 28 January 2011.

Information current as of 24 May 2009 (end of season) Awarded to the player in each category that receives the most votes in a poll conducted each month on the MCFC OWS