Roberto Mancini made a secret visit to Abu Dhabi last week.
Sunday Mirror Sport can reveal that the Manchester City manager spent three days in the home country of his club’s owners as speculation about his future at the Etihad continues.
The 48-year-old flew to the Gulf on Sunday as his players reported for a warm-down training session following their 4-0 victory over Newcastle.
And Mancini did not return until his squad were undergoing their second training session of he day on Wednesday afternoon.
A City source insisted last night that Mancini did not meet with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and that he was taking a short holiday rather than working on club business.
But the timing of his trip will be a cause for concern for some City supporters, in a week when the Italian would have been expected to be preparing for tomorrow night’s derby showdown with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Blues are facing a week that will define their season – and could also decide whether Mancini remains as manager next year.
The Premier League champions are 15 points adrift of United in the title race.
And next Sunday they face Chelsea in the semi-finals of the FA Cup at Wembley.
Goodbye sheikh? Uncertainty continues to surround Mancini's future at the Etihad
Getty
A club spokeswoman said: “Roberto was in Abu Dhabi for a long weekend and Khaldoon wasn’t there when he went over to my knowledge.
“Roberto wasn’t summoned and there were no crunch talks.”
But Mancini’s low-key visit to Abu Dhabi will raise questions – despite the club’s official explanation – as to why he made a 15-hour round trip to recharge his batteries at such a crucial stage of the campaign.
He has only just returned from a week-long trip back to Italy during the international break following a 2-0 defeat at Everton.
Mancini also returned to his homeland after the 3-1 reversal at Southampton in February.
The Italian has enjoyed a close relationship with Khaldoon and the City chairman was a calming influence on the occasions when he disagreed with former chief executive Garry Cook and ex-football administrator Brian Marwood over transfer policy.
Mancini travelled to Abu Dhabi after City’s FA Cup triumph in 2011 to discuss his future and again last summer when he was rewarded for winning the title with a five-year contract.
But Khaldoon recruited former Barcelona executives Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain in the summer with a mandate to run the club.
Meanwhile, Mancini has warned his City bosses that they must splash the cash in the summer if they are to reclaim the Premier League title.