Manchester City (England)
League position: second in Premier League: City were bought in September 2008 for about £210m by Sheikh Mansour via his Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment vehicle. In 2013 City Football Group was created of which, since 2021 and via Newton Investment and Development, Mansour owns 81%, with the US private equity company Silver Lake holding 18.16% (and China Media Capital and CITIC Capital the remainder). Mansour’s 15-year proprietorship of City has been soaked in success, with seven Premier League titles, three FA Cups, six League Cups, the Champions League and Uefa Super Cup. In December City will attempt to add the Fifa World Club Cup.
On taking over, Mansour said: “We want to make it clear that Mark Hughes is absolutely integral to our plans.” The manager, appointed three months earlier, lasted until the following December, since then City have been led by Roberto Mancini (2009-2013), Manuel Pellegrini (2013-2016) and Pep Guardiola (2016 to present). Last season, Guardiola led City to the treble, an achievement to rank alongside his 100-point title triumph of 2017-18.
New York City FC (USA)
11th in MLS Eastern Conference: CFG owns 80% of City’s first sister club, acquired as a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in May 2013 for $100m, part of this fee paid by Yankee Global Enterprises, which owns the other 20% and also the New York Yankees. David Villa, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo were NYCFC’s first three designated players for their debut 2015 season. After finishing 17th in the Eastern Conference, they have since placed second, second, third and first, with coaches including the former City midfielder Patrick Vieira, Domènec Torrent, once a Guardiola assistant, and the incumbent, Nick Cushing, who previously led City’s women’s team. In 2021 NYCFC were MLS champions.
Melbourne City (Australia)
Ninth in A-League: Fully owned by CFG since 2015 (it bought an 80% stake the previous year) when Villa joined on loan in what has been a practice of players – and coaches – rotating between the group’s clubs. Honours: A-League championship 2021, Australian Cup 2016.
Yokohama F Marinos (Japan)
Second in J1 League: The third side to become part of CFG when a minority stake was bought in May 2014, with Nissan Motors the majority owner. They are managed by Kevin Muscat. Ange Postecoglou was in charge from 2018 to 2021, guiding Marinos to the 2019 J1 League, a first title since 2004. The club were again champions last year.
Montevideo City Torque (Uruguay)
Ninth in Primera División: Acquired in 2017 when the 10-year-old club were known as Torque, they became Montevideo City Torque three years later. In CFG’s first season Torque were promoted to the Primera División for the first time (as Segunda División champions), were relegated the next season, then promoted again. The club, CFG says, “acts as an administrative hub for City’s pre-existing scouting operations in the region”.
Girona (Spain)
Second in La Liga: In August 2017 CFG bought 44.3% of the Catalan club, the same holding as Girona Football Group, which is headed by Guardiola’s brother, Pere, who has been the chairman since 2020. Promoted to La Liga for the first time in 2017, Girona led the standings earlier in this campaign – again a first. Yangel Herrera and the Garcías, Aleix and Eric (no relation), are former City players, while the 21-year-old Brazilian defender Yan Couto is on loan from the English champions and Taty Castellanos, sold to Lazio in the summer, was previously at Torque and NYCFC.
Sichuan Jiuniu (China)
Newly promoted to Chinese Super League: Two years after being founded, the Chengdu club came under the CFG umbrella in 2019 via a 28% share buy, with China Sports Capital (whose parent company is CMC) owning 54% and Ubtech robotics 18%. Jesús Tato, the caretaker manager, is a former assistant coach at Mumbai City, another CFG club. In October Sichuan became China League One champions making next year their inaugural season in the Chinese Super League. One of the CFG clubs yet to have a “City” rename.
Mumbai City (India)
Fourth in Indian Super League: A 65% share was bought in November 2019 since when the Mumbai chairman has been Khaldoon al-Mubarak, who holds the same position at Manchester City and Melbourne City. In 2021 the Islanders claimed the Indian Super League and Championship. This year Mumbai won the ISL again.
Lommel SK (Belgium)
Fifth in Challenger Pro League: Club No 9 for CFG were acquired in May 2020, compete in the country’s second tier and are managed by the former Arsenal defender Steve Bould.
Troyes (France)
17th in Ligue 2: Four months after Lommel’s acquisition came a majority stake in the 37-year-old French club who were promoted to Ligue 1 in the same 2020-21 season, staying up for two years before being relegated.
Palermo (Italy)
Fifth in Serie B: After an initial 80% buy in July 2022, the Italian second-tier club are now 94.5% owned by CFG.
Bahia (Brazil)
17th in Série A: In May a 90% share was bought in the northeast Brazil team that plays at the 48,000-capacity Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova stadium and which adds to CFG’s presence in South America, after the acquisition of Torque. Kayky, a Brazilian, and the Uruguayan Nicolás Acevedo are on loan from City and NYCFC respectively.
Club Bolívar (Bolivia)
Second in Primera División: A partner club since 2021 which allows, CFG says, the Bolivian top-flight team to “access a wide breadth of expertise, proprietary technology, best practice and strategic advice developed by City Football Group through its multi-club structure”.
