‘That’s the way the city works’: how the UAE changed the face of Andy Burnham’s Manchester

Sheikh Mansour has built an extensive portfolio, while growth in the city helped power Andy Burnham (top) to No 10. Illustration: Anaïs Mims/Getty

When Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s long-ruling dictator, was toppled from power in the Arab spring protests of 2011, his downfall sent shock waves across the Middle East. It also helped change the face of modern Manchester.

Mubarak’s successor, the Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi, was a sworn enemy of the United Arab Emirates, whose rulers feared the advance of Morsi’s Islamism.