Since securing a mammoth $500 million investment from American private equity firm Silver Lake, Premier League champions Manchester City have become the most valuable football club in the world.
Although known primarily for its strong technology spending, Silver Lake will now own a 10 percent minority share in one of the world’s leading football clubs, putting CFG’s value at a whopping $4.8 billion.
As a result of the transaction, CFG headquartered in Abu Dhabi is now within touching distance of the $5.5 billion value given to the NFL giants, the Dallas Cowboys–the most valuable sports team in the world.
Those who are loyal to the people will presumably be pleased to hear that the Abu Dhabi-owned company has left their football rivalry far behind, with the likes of Real Madrid ($4.2 billion), Barcelona ($3.99 billion) and fierce rivals Manchester United ($3.8 billion) now eating their proverbial dust.
It is important to note that CFG is investors in no less than seven clubs, given their strong focus on the champions of the Premier League, with the most prominent teams in that amount being the New York City FC, Girona, and Melbourne City FC.
Speaking immediately after this groundbreaking agreement, CFG President Khaldoon al-Mubarak shared his enthusiasm for the partnership that will be shared between both parties moving forward.
“We and Silver Lake share a strong interest in the opportunities offered by the convergence of culture, sports and innovation and the potential ability of CFG to drive long-term growth and new revenue streams globally.”
Currently, the city is fifth in the Premier League table, nine points behind Liverpool, with Pep Guardiola’s men aiming to win the title for a third consecutive season.
They secured their spot on Tuesday night in the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 1-1 draw at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.
The City Football Group (CFG) is a holding company under Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) controlled by association football clubs. It is part-owned along with Silver Lake by the Chinese companies China Media Capital and CITIC Capital.
Manchester City F.C. is the flagship team of the organization. In the Premier League of England. It also owns sections of the U.S., Australia, Japan, Spain, Uruguay, China, and India clubs. The goal of the organization is to own a team on each continent, each with the name of the “City” identifier.
City Football Group (CFG) has settled on an agreement to buy a majority stake in its eighth Indian Super League side, Mumbai City FC, which marks a major move into Indian soccer. CFG will become the Club’s 65% majority shareholder, along with existing shareholders, acclaimed actor and film producer, Ranbir Kapoor and Bimal Parekh, who together will own the remaining 35%.
With increasing their presence in each continent, CFG is looking to dominate the footballing world with all the takeovers.
