The Goal Mouth: Money, Man City and Monaco

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Wow! I still can't get over it. A gazzilionaire I had never heard about comes out of nowhere to take over a Premier League football club, and just a handful of minutes later signs Robinho, one of the best players in the world.

Football is definitely changing. Without wanting to sound like a romantic, I grew up in the 80s when the team with the best academies normally won. Sure, there were transfers, especially in Italy, but I always had the feeling that players really cared about the teams they represented, and really cared when they won or lost. Those days are numbered, and in some cases, have gone.

There are two things that shock me in Manchester City's takeover deal. First of all, how can a consortium of Middle East billionaires appear out of nowhere and buy a club? Shouldn't there be some kind of security or identity check? We saw what happened with Thaksin Shinawatra, so why not check up on these guys?

Secondly, how does Robinho, one of the most talented players in the world, decide to move to Manchester City, easily not in the top 50 clubs in Europe? I know what you are going to say... and you're right -- the answer to both questions is money. And that's what shocks me and saddens me.

After spending $61 million in one day on Robinho, who knows how much they will spend in the next transfer window in January? $200 million? More?

Manchester City's goal is to qualify for the Champions League and as much as I hate to admit it, they could actually make it into next season's edition of the tournament. They have a talented group of players and a very competent manager. Watch out!

That takes me to my next subject, Europe's top club competition. I had the honor of presenting the Champions League group stage draw in Monaco for the third year running and was pleased to see that some of the teams from smaller countries had made it in. Anorthosis Famagusta, BATE Borisov and FC Cluj are all making their debuts and I'm looking forward to it.

Having the opportunity to mingle with some of UEFA's top executives, I really got the impression that everyone was pleased that the competition was going to reach more countries and more fans. So am I.

As well as presenting the draw, I also had the chance to speak with Cristiano Ronaldo shortly after Manchester United lost the Super Cup to Zenit St. Petersburg. Although he was involved in a transfer soap opera over the summer, he seemed pretty motivated to play for United this season.

He told me it would be hard to score so many goals again, but he was definitely going to try to keep improving and giving 100 percent. He has taken quite a bit of criticism in the last months and a lot of it was deserved, but I can tell you that in all the times I met him, he has always been polite and down to earth.

The signing of Dimitar Berbatov will certainly take some weight off his shoulders. The Bulgarian striker is a great acquisition and will fit beautifully into Sir Alex Ferguson's attack.

Especially if one considers that Wayne Rooney keeps misfiring. As talented as I thought he was when he burst onto the scene with Everton, he has been really disappointing over the last year. I haven't seen any kind of development and sometimes he seems he is better at pushing people around than scoring goals! If he were Spanish or Italian, he wouldn't even get a chance to play international football.

That's all I have for you for now. Send me your thoughts and concerns. Look forward to seeing them!