Manchester City has appointed TXIKI BEGIRISTAIN as director of football as part of a new £250M ($402.4M) investment to "establish the EPL champions as the world’s foremost recruiters and developers of talent," according to Duncan Castles of the SUNDAY TIMES. The former Barcelona technical director will oversee all organizational matters for City’s first team, "including a shake-up in player recruitment." Former Manchester City football administrator BRIAN MARWOOD becomes managing director of the City Football Academy. City is investing close to £200M ($321.9M) in the project, including the building and staffing of training facilities on the Etihad campus. Marwood spent the summer "reining in City’s spending while wrestling with the need to comply" with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules. This often left Manager ROBERTO MANCINI "frustrated by the club’s failure to sign his transfer targets" (SUNDAY TIMES, 10/28). The PA reported that both Begiristain and Marwood will report to CEO FERRAN SORIANO. Soriano said, "Given the scale and importance of this challenge, we want to commit our very best people to it. I am delighted that Brian Marwood will take leadership of the CFA initiative, and I am equally very pleased to welcome an individual of Txiki Begiristain's calibre to the club" (PA, 10/28).
