By reaching the final of the Champions League, next Saturday, against Chelsea, Manchester City achieves one of the great goals of its owner, the City Football Group (CFG). Manchester City’s recent success in the Premier League, with five titles in the last decade, and the possibility of winning a first European title are just the most visible parts of City Football Group’s global project. The company’s plans go far beyond English borders. There are ten clubs on five continents, from Oceania to South America.
Created just seven years ago, the Mumbai City FC conquered the indian championship for the first time, while the Melbourne City FC finished the Australian league regular season in first place. In Europe, the group’s latest acquisition, Frenchman Troyes, gained access to the First Division of the French Championship, while Girona struggles to return to the elite of the Spanish Championship.
“Each club in the City Football Group has individual goals, because each team is different,” explains Javi Noblega, commercial director of Montevideo City Torque, a Uruguayan club belonging to the group, to AFP.
In South America, Montevideo City Torque serves as the group’s recruiting club. “The idea of this structure is to attract the best talents from Uruguay and the region”, explains Noblega. The objective is to attract young talents to resell them, either to other teams in the group or to any interested team.
With the sale of Melbourne City midfielder Aaron Mooy to English club Huddersfield in 2017 alone for $14 million, City Football Group has already earned more than the investment it made to buy the Australian club.
Within City Football Group, everything is networked. In Japan, its minority stake in Yokohama Marinos (20%), controlled by automotive giant Nissan, resulted in a sponsorship deal for all teams in the group. “Communication within City Football Group is daily and is not only related to the economy, but also to marketing, communication, sponsorship or other sectors,” says Noblega. “The organization is very horizontal. We are in contact with the most important people in these areas within the group. We feel very valued for learning from the best.”
The group’s economic growth draws attention. In 2015, China Media Capital acquired 13% for $400 million, and four years later, investment fund Silver Lake Partners paid 25% more for just 10% of the equity, with a total group valuation of $4. .8 billion. In 2008, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nayan paid “only” $300 million for the purchase of Manchester City from former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. At the time, the club lived in the shadow of archrival United.
Today, the shareholding division of the group is between Abu Dhabi United Group (78%), China Media Capital (12%) and Silver Lake (10%).
