When Manchester City began their ascent, backed with a budget to rival the richest around, Sir Alex Ferguson tried not to let it faze him.
The Manchester United boss made reference to the "noisy neighbours" from across town while his own team remained the bigger players, reaching the Champions League final in 2009 and 2011 and winning the league in both of those seasons. However, there were moments where he struggled to hide his true feelings, and the arrival of Carlos Tevez at the City of Manchester Stadium was one of them.
Tevez had been a prime example of Fergie getting his man, with United winning the race to sign the Argentina star after a year spent adapting to English football with West Ham United. However, as the forward opted to cross the city and sign for the neighbours, we got a sense of what was really at stake.
