As Manchester City celebrated on the Etihad pitch following another dramatic final day Premier League title win, their owner was watching on from afar.
Sheikh Mansour is rarely spotted in Manchester, instead leaving chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak as the public face of the ownership, with an efficient group of directors including Ferran Soriano, Txiki Begiristain and Omar Berrada working alongside him to run the club. Those directors took the chance to pose with the Premier League trophy yet again, and it's clear that Sheikh Mansour was equally as delighted in his latest triumph.
Taking to Twitter, on an account mainly used for diplomatic updates in his role as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mansour described City as a 'distinguished' team after their latest trophy under his ownership.
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"We congratulate the Manchester City team for winning the English Premier League title," the tweet read. "We congratulate all the team in charge, players and fans in Britain and around the world. A well-deserved crown for a distinguished team."
It's rare that the owner comments on City, with his tweets on the Blues usually reserved for occasions like this — a title or trophy. The content of this latest post is hardly surprising, with general congratulations and nothing too surprising in the 37-word message.
When the chairman delivers his annual end-of-season interview, that will more likely offer a better insight into the owner's thoughts about a season that has delivered the main aim of winning the title, but arguably fallen short in all of the cups.
If fans were looking to read into Mansour's words, though, they may hone in on his reference to fans around the world, and description of City as 'distinguished.' The mission to make City, and the City Football Group, a global force remains strong, and the ambition to make the football team one of the best in the world is also clear as day.
The addition of Erling Haaland underlines that goal, with the owner's rare public comment another reminder that City won't stop their hunt for becoming an elite, distinguished club.
Mansour has now seen City win 14 major trophies in his 14 years in charge, including six league titles with an average Premier League finish of 2.6 — an average that improves when taking away the 2009 finish of 10th following the takeover on the penultimate day of the summer transfer window.
Add to that, City have won three Community Shields, and have qualified for the Champions League for 12 straight years. Of those, they have been in the knockout stages for the last nine seasons, with six quarter-final appearances or better, including five in a row.
As well as the owner's statement, there have been declarations from key players that they want to stay at the club, an admission from Soriano that City want Pep Guardiola to stay past next summer, and another comment (from Sorriano) that they hope Haaland will stay for a long time.
If any rivals hoped that City were going to stop their march to four trophies each year, they look set to be disappointed.
