Manchester United supporters could be forgiven for displaying mild signs of shell shock this morning. If waking up to discover you were the second richest club in Manchester wasn't bad enough, now they might have to think twice before hopping in their car.

That's because Noel Gallagher, the Oasis musician and diehard Manchester City supporter, has fuelled the rivalry between the city's biggest football clubs by saying that every gallon of petrol United's fans use goes directly into Mark Hughes's transfer kitty.

The football world remains in shock following Monday's announcement at Eastlands that the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich Gulf state, are preparing to buy out Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand.

The £34.2 million capture of Robinho from Real Madrid plus a bid for Dimitar Berbatov, which forced United to up their offer to Tottenham Hotspur, further signalled City's intent to overtake United as the biggest club in the world.

And Gallagher has now cheekily pointed out that every penny United fans spend on the road will boost City's coffers. "I can't see any downside to this to be honest," Gallagher said. "Going from a cult football club that black cab drivers in London all like and patronise you [about], to being the richest club in the world is just staggering.

"I always kind of knew that 40 years of loyalty would be repaid somehow and I always knew that a day would come when we stagger everyone in football. It'll be nice to know that every gallon of petrol a Manchester United fan buys is going into our transfer kitty."

Gallagher, who is currently with his band in Canada, said that he discovered the news after a flurry of text messages. "We're on tour in Winnipeg and I woke up to find I had 19 text messages. Now that usually means I have either offended someone in an interview, or something bad has happened at home.

"But they were telling me to put on the news, because we've been bought by some Arab prince," he said. "I was laughing at first, and I still really can't believe it.

"Then to top it all off just before we went on stage I found out we've signed Robinho. I mean it's staggering, just unbelievable."

City sparked a remarkable tug-of-war with United for Berbatov after lodging a late £32.5 million bid for the Bulgaria striker and although Gallagher was disappointed to miss out on the player, it couldn't dampen his enthusiasm. "I'm also quite made up that we've managed to swindle United out of a few bob as they've had to pay over the odds for Berbatov," he added.

Yesterday, Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, the businessman behind the takeover, said that he was planning a £135 million bid for Cristiano Ronaldo during the January transfer window, although Gallagher isn't holding out much hope for the deal. "I like [Sulaiman] already - he's obviously got a sick sense of humour. Because the last place in the world that Ronaldo is going is to come to us."

Gallagher gave his support to Hughes, the City manager, but said he wouldn't be surprised to see Jose Mourinho, the Inter Milan and former Chelsea coach, at Eastlands in the coming seasons.

"I could see Mourinho ending up there in a few years time, if the money keeps coming in. But I think Mark Hughes will do a brilliant job, this will be the making of him."

Al-Fahim has made few attempts to hide his ambition for the club, saying his ultimate target is the Premier League title. "I wouldn't have thought we would win [the Premier League] this year, you'd have to get the new lads playing together as a team," Gallagher said. "But stranger things have happened."