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Manchester City have found themselves at the centre of a diplomatic storm after Chinese state media branded the Premier League champions “disrespectful” and “arrogant”.

In an editorial following City's trip to Shanghai and Nanjing for the Asia Trophy, the government-owned Xinhua Agency has accused City of only going to China for the money.

The article, under the headline 'Chinese fans' love for Man City goes unreciprocated on home soil', says that Pep Guardiola and his squad failed to engage with local supporters in the same way as tournament rivals Wolves, West Ham and Newcastle.

The attack will come as a huge embarrassment to City's Abu Dhabi owners.

Sheikh Mansour sold a 13 percent stake in the club to Chinese Media Capital for £265million in December 2015.

(Image: Getty Images for Premier League)

Chinese president Xi Jinping helped seal the deal when he visited the Etihad Campus two months earlier during a state visit to Britain.

City view China as a commercial market with rich potential and five months ago they purchased Sichuan Jiuniu FC to be incorporated into their City Football Group.

The attack by Xinhua – the biggest media organisation in the world and the most important in China – is a PR disaster.

City's trip to the Far East got off to a frustrating start when the private flight taking Guardiola's squad to Shanghai had to be cancelled twice due to an administrative cock-up over airspace.

They eventually arrived in China more than 48 hours late after taking two commercial flights.

The article published in Xinhua - and carried on the media giant's English website - begins by blasting Guardiola for refusing to speak to fans after City beat West Ham in Nanjing last Wednesday night.

(Image: Getty Images for Premier League)

It continues: “Taken alone, it might have been excusable as a one-off occurrence, perhaps due to jetlag or a packed schedule.

“But unfortunately for Chinese fans here and local media, it proved to just be one example among many of the utter disrespect shown by Manchester City to their hosts during their tour of China.

“For the Premier League champions, their appearance in China was nothing more than a commercial obligation, and their lack of enthusiasm and the indifferent treatment of their hosts stands in stark contrast to representatives of other clubs.”

Wolves, who won the tournament by beating City on penalties in Saturday's final, judged the trip as a huge success – both on and off the pitch.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

The Molineux club arranged a meet-and-greet session with fans at the opening of a new store and Nuno Espirito Santo and his players later attended a fashion show with representatives of the club's Chinese owners, Fosun International.

Xinhua's article is scathing that City chief executive Ferran Soriano used the trip to give a presentation on how his club are trying to tap into Chinese markets.

It claims Soriano's mission was “focused on how the club could best commercially expand into China and look to relieve Chinese football fans of their money.”

It concludes: “While the other clubs were here chasing hearts and minds among locals, extracting cash from the pockets of fans has appeared to be the only consistent goal for Man City here in China.

(Image: PA)

“An attitude of arrogance and the belief that they were the main attraction to the Premier League Asia Trophy was misplaced and stood in direct contrast to the other clubs.

“Today those clubs leave China with a new-found respect and new fans; Manchester City leave China with neither.”

City are currently in Hong Kong to face local champions South China.

They conclude the tour with a game against Japanese sister club Yokohama F Marinos on Saturday.