When lifelong Manchester City fan Jim Dolan got a knock at the door on Thursday, he would never have imagined what was waiting outside.
Wearing his new 2023/24 kit that had only arrived that morning, City surprised Jim and his family by bringing the genuine Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup trophies to his house.
Six weeks ago, Jim suffered a stroke, causing him to miss the FA Cup and Champions League finals, passing his tickets for both onto his son. Thankfully, Jim is now making a full recovery, but City's community arm were keen to make sure he got to see the trophies he couldn't witness the Blues lifting last month.
If Jim couldn't get to the finals to see the trophies, then the club would bring the trophies to him.
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"I have been a season ticket holder since I was 14, I bought my first ticket in 1974," Jim told the Manchester Evening News. "I got a job when I was 13, lied about my age to get a part-time job, got a pound a week which was enough to save up to get a season ticket in the old Maine Road.
"On the last game of the season I did feel unwell. I tested positive for Covid but I actually had a stroke. Only a few days later, I went to opticians, and they sent me to hospital. My life has just changed.
"I didn't go to the FA Cup final and only caught the last five minutes on TV I was that ill. I was quite poorly before the Champions League final but watched on TV. It's been six weeks, I'm coming out the other end, slowly recovering. This is a really special thing.
"The Champions League trophy is in my kitchen, that won't happen again! I think the FA Cup itself is visually more attractive but it's also got the history. My first FA Cup final as a fan was 1981 when we got beat by Tottenham. To see it in person in your own house is special.
"The club as a whole who have got the time to do little things like this for fans, it's special. There's a lot of detractors for different reasons, but this is priceless. What's gone on in the background, the people in the community, it's all priceless."
Before surprising Jim, City and the trophies visited a care home in South Manchester to surprise 102-year-old City fan Geoffrey Rothband. These community visits form part of a wider global tour of the three trophies, with City taking them around the world on a months-long tour, starting with the first team's pre-season tour in Japan and South Korea later this month.
Geoffrey's son Nigel Rothband took to Twitter to say: "Thank you Man City for making an old man very happy. Taking all three trophies to dad’s care home ahead of his 103rd Birthday next month was a fabulous thing to do. It allowed four generations of City fans to celebrate together."
