Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers admits Manchester City's owners have global plans to increase the club's profile.

Rodgers has been close to City since they approached him in 2010 about being Roberto Mancini's No2.

He told the Mail on Sunday: "I got to know about the club in those discussions and talks and I have to say I am a big admirer of their work and their plan.

"They genuinely have a project there. They want to win but also about developing the community and everything around it.

"I was shown plans of the training facilities and the mini stadiums and how they were going to try and roll it out throughout the world.

"Yes, they've spent big but I know for sure they will want to bring players through in their youth system. They've got some wonderful talented players in the development phase so they have a very strategic way of how they want to do it."