Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Ever since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan took control of Manchester City in 2008, they have never hidden the fact they aimed to become one of the greatest clubs in the world. Ambition needs a blueprint, however, and after a few seasons of throwing around huge sums of money -- with some success but not enough satisfaction -- they aimed directly for what was the Gold Standard at the time: Barcelona.
Not in a creepy, "Single White Female" way, but in a genuine belief that Barcelona's philosophy could be tweaked and adapted to the Premier League and turn City into the greatest club in the world.