WTF was that about? When Manchester City signed George Weah 🤷‍♂️ | OneFootball

Younger readers might find this hard to believe, but there was a time before the internet and social media when you rarely got weeks and weeks of tedious speculation leading up to every transfer.

Often, the first you heard of your club signing a player was when you bought the morning newspaper and there they were on the back page, holding their new scarf aloft.

That’s exactly what happened when Manchester City completed the stunning capture of George Weah in the summer of 2000.

One night we went to bed and Weah’s name had never even been mentioned in the same sentence as City’s, and the next morning we awoke to the news he’d be strutting his stuff at Maine Road the following season.

This was a massive coup for City at the time.

Joe Royle’s side had just been promoted back to the Premier League after four seasons away, they hadn’t won a trophy for 24 years and their budgetary restrictions were an awful lot tighter than they are nowadays.

So to bring in a player who had been the FIFA World Player of the Year five years previously on a free transfer was a huge deal.

But Weah was the wrong side of 30 when he rocked up in Moss Side, and images of him running the length of the pitch and scoring for AC Milan were barely visible in the rearview mirror.

The Liberian forward had spent the second half of the previous season on loan from Milan at Chelsea, where he’d netted four times in 13 appearances, including a winning goal against Tottenham on his debut.

So while he may have been over the hill, all signs pointed to him bringing some much-needed big game experience to newly promoted City, and his partnership with fellow new signing Paulo Wanchope looked very promising indeed.

The first glimpse City got of their new boy was when they took on Manchester United at Old Trafford in a pre-season game.

The match was a testimonial for the retiring Denis Irwin and after just a few minutes, Irwin was forced to hobble off following a horror tackle from none other than George Manneh Oppong Weah himself.

Injuring a United legend in their own testimonial is certainly one way of endearing yourself to your new supporters.

But after an intoxicating summer of transfer activity, City fans were brought back to earth with a thud when they lost 4-0 away at fellow newly promoted side Charlton Athletic on the opening day of the season.

They bounced back with a 4-2 win over Sunderland in the following game before losing at home to Coventry and then winning away at Leeds, who were a Champions League side at the time.

Then, on 9 September 2000, Weah got on the scoresheet as City were unfortunate to lose 3-2 to Liverpool at Anfield.

It would prove to be his first and only goal in a City shirt.

The story goes that Weah didn’t take too kindly to being benched by City boss Royle and frustrations boiled over in the dressing room after he’d been an unused substitute in a home win over Bradford in October 2000.

Insults were traded, tea cups were thrown (probably) and before long, the 1995 World Player of the Year was packing his bags.

Just over two months and seven appearances into a two-year contract, the 34-year-old left City to join Marseille, but not before delivering a stinging parting shot.

“I have been treated like a child,” he said.

“The reason I am leaving Manchester City is not because I am not playing. It is because of the lack of respect and communication shown to me by Mr Royle.

“I will not stay for somebody to insult me, insult my integrity, to make me look small in front of younger players.”

City were relegated at the end of that season, while Weah went on to play 20 times for Marseille before winding up his career at Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi.

Now 53, he has been the President of Liberia since 2018.

His move to City promised so much but ultimately delivered so little.

Still, at least we’ll always have that feeling of seeing his picture on the back page of the newspaper on that magical summer morning in the year 2000.