City has been taken over by Dubai International Group, and are now the richest club in the Premiership.
James told News of the World: “It is good for football because it is another club to attract people’s interest and it is good that people with serious money want to invest in the Premier League.
“You can bid for all the best players in the world but if you do not use them properly you are not going to win anything.
“Jack Walker proved you can buy success but maintaining it is difficult. Alex Ferguson has proved he can do that.
“Manchester United have set the benchmark and they are annoyingly good at it. They have history going back to winning the European Cup in 1968. They have a worldwide fan base built up over many years and for City to match that will be very difficult.”
