"Money cannot buy everything", were the words that resonated from Silvio Berlusconi's statement.
The then AC Milan president was (rather ironically) taking the moral high ground. His prized asset, Kaka, had just rejected a big-money move to Manchester City.
It was January 2009 and the newly Sheikh Mansour-backed City had offered Milan £91m for the 2007 Ballon d'Or winner. For his services, Kaka would be paid £500,000 per week.
Yet the Brazil playmaker refused, citing a love of the fans and his relationship with the club as factors in his decision to remain with the Rossoneri. Berlusconi took the opportunity to attack the nouveau riche of east Manchester.
"We offered the player the chance to consider the offer and make himself a fortune, but he has higher values. Some things are much more important than money", he said.
People were starting to laugh at City. Ronaldinho had said no, Kaka too, and British record signing Robinho was already showing signs he wanted out.
City had money to waft in the direction of top players, but not the guarantee of silverware nor prestige to go with it.
Fast forward to present day, and that's all changed. City no longer have to convince players to join them, rather players are having to convince City that they are worthy.
Last summer Lionel Messi publicly stated his desire to leave Barcelona. There was only one destination on his mind and it wasn't in France. City wanted him, but in the end a contractual tangle played in Barca's favour.
Nevertheless, Messi didn't want to move to Manchester for money. Barcelona's frazzled accounts show he was doing just fine in that regard.
He wanted to play with top players, to play under Pep Guardiola and to win trophies. The club didn't have to do much to make their case.
A similar situation has developed over the past week with Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2015, Ronaldo rubbished reports that he would consider a move to the blue side of Manchester.
"If you will speak about the money then I will go to Qatar, I'd probably have more money there than at Manchester City", he said.
Clearly, the former Manchester United man is not that bothered about money at this late stage in his career. So what is he bothered about?
There are a whole litany of reasons why the Juventus star won't join the Blues, and even more why City should stay clear of him.
However, that does not change the fact that the best players in the world, arguably finest of all-time, are now throwing themselves at City, not the other way round as was previously the case.
Even the now doomed Harry Kane saga indicates this. The England captain's desire to join City was no secret, nor was his motivation for doing so.
He publicly stated his lust for silverware, something now unlikely to be satisfied as he trudges on at Tottenham. Salary after tax and bonuses was never the issue
There will be understandable frustration at another failed transfer pursuit, but the cases of all three - Messi, Ronaldo and Kane - represent a significant shift in City's standing in world football.
Sheikh Mansour no longer has to throw cheques at players in order to entice them to Manchester. Guardiola's City have their own supreme footballing merit, so can pick and choose who they pursue in the knowledge all targets are probably keen to come.
"They have petrol and ideas, which makes it even more efficient", Arsene Wenger said of City in 2017. It was a crude summation of a nuanced subject, but the point stood. City aren't just a pot of cash anymore, a big pay-day. A fine-tuned, well planned and attractive project has been built at the Etihad Stadium. Money no longer needs to buy everything.
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