In the world of football, mentioning city soccer groups is basically synonymous with money. At first, City Football Group has been owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, a private investment company of EMI businessman Mansour, in 2015, the Chinese Cultural Industry Investment Fund and CITIC Group spent $400 million to acquire a 13% stake in City Soccer Group, and in 2019, the US private equity company Silver Lake Capital acquired 10% of the shares for $500 million, forming the three largest shareholders of City Football Group, the largest shareholder is Mansour holding 77% of the shares.
The first team in the Premier League, Manchester City
In 2008, Suerman bought Manchester City for 200 million pounds, and since joining Manchester City, the team has begun to open the team's "golden dollar era" by recruiting. In the first transfer period of the acquisition of Manchester City, chelsea cut off and signed Robinho for £32.5 million. In the following season, Manchester City spent a lot of money recruiting, and yaya Toure, David Silva, Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko, Aguero and other star players were included in Manchester City's base camp. Today, Manchester City club is ranked No. 2 in the world with a combined value of €1.03 billion. Since winning their first Premier League title from 2011 to 2012, City have won five league titles and two FA Cups.
Major League Baseball's 20th team, New York City
In May 2013, Manchester City Football Club and New York Yankees Formed New York City Football Club, the traditional giant of the American Baseball League, invested $100 million by both sides, of which the New York Yankees own 20% to 25% of the shares, and the management of the team is still controlled by City Football Group. As a new team in the American League, City Soccer Group not only brought in David Villa, Pirlo, Lampard and other players for New York City, but also won the 2021 MLS championship.
Australian Premier League club – Melbourne City
On 23 January 2014, City Football Group acquired an 80% stake in Ambition Club Melbourne, Australia, and renamed melbourne City Football Club. To show the ambitions of city football group, on 5 June the club introduced David Villa, who will play in the Australian Premier League from October to December 2014. The team has now won the 2017 Australian FA Cup and the 2021 league title.
J-League – Yokohama Mariners
In 2014, City Soccer Group invested in Japan's veteran powerhouse Yokohama Mariners, acquiring a 19.95% stake in it. Although it only owns the club's shares and does not have absolute control, the team relies on traditional advantages and the strong combination of City Football Group and Nissan Group to help the Yokohama Mariners win the league title in 2019 after a gap of 15 years.
The city of Montevideo, Uruguay
In early 2017, City Football Group acquired Torque Athletic Uruguay, and in February 2020 it officially changed its name to Moment Football Club Montevideo City, and at the same time launched a new club badge.
Today the team is playing in the Uruguayan First Division and in the Copa Libertadores. In addition to changing the team name and logo, City Football Group has also established it as its youth training base to discover young South American players. This is the fourth academy after Manchester City, New York City and Melbourne City.
Spanish league Girona
In 2017, Girona, which was in La Liga, entered La Liga, and in August of the same year, City Football Group and Guardiola's brother Pere Guardiola joined forces to acquire a stake in Girona, which owns half of the club. Girona played in La Liga this season, ranking 6th in the league and in the promotion play-off zone.
Sichuan Jiuniu in the Chinese League One
On February 20, 2019, City Football Group, together with UBTECH and China Jianteng Sports Industry Fund, announced in Chengdu that they had jointly acquired Sichuan Jiuniu Club in China B, becoming its seventh team. Soriano, CEO of City Football Group, said that he will be committed to formulating a long-term and sustainable development model for Sichuan Jiuniu Club, while attracting outstanding young Chinese players. On 21 February, City Football Group announced melbourne City Football Club CEO Scott Moon as City Football Group China's CHIEF Executive Officer. This season, Sichuan Jiuniu ranked 8th in the Chinese League A and reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Mumbai City, India
On 28 November 2019, City Football Group acquired a 65% stake in Indian Premier League side Mumbai City club and became the team's major shareholder, the eighth football club controlled by City Football Group.
Belgian league Lommer
On 11 May 2020, City Football Group officially announced the completion of the acquisition of Belgian team Lommel F.C., located in the Belgian Second Division, the club is known for its strong youth training system and focus on developing young players. The acquisition of City Football Group is also exploring new ideas to build a youth training base and cultivate players.
Troyes, France
In September 2020, City Football Group and Chinese Culture Company acquired Ligue 2 club Troyes, becoming its 10th football team. On 9 May 2021, Troyes won the Ligue 2 title in the first round and returned to this season's Ligue 1, ranking 16th so far this season.
Bolivian Bolívar
In January 2021, Bolivia's Bolivar FC officially announced that it would join the City Football Group as its 11th team. Bolívar has won the top league in the country 29 times, is the team with the most Bolivian league titles and is a regular in the Copa Libertadores
Today's City Football Group is so big in world football not only because of the money factor, but also because they are constantly exploring their own way of operating in the process of expansion. In order to ensure the development of all teams, City Football Group requires sponsors to exchange sponsorships, and the teams sponsoring the Premier League should also sponsor Australia, China and other sister teams. On 28 February 2019, PUMA announced the signing of a long-term agreement with City Football Group. In the agreement, PUMA will become the official partner of five clubs under the City Football Group, including Manchester City, Melbourne City and Sichuan Jiuniu, and provide equipment sponsorship for these clubs.
Teams in 11 countries not only bring benefits to the city football group, but also help the team's youth training and reinforcements, which will save the club a lot of costs in the long run. In recent seasons, many young players who have joined Manchester City will be loaned to Melbourne City, Girona, New York City and other teams, and then return to Manchester City or other teams through training in brother teams. Former Manchester City defender Angelino, for example, in 2013 Angelo joined manchester City youth training, in 2015 was loaned to New York City, and then moved to Girona, Mallorca, Eindhoven and other teams, in 2019 to activate the buy-back clause to return to Manchester City, in 2021 Angelo joined The Bundesliga Leipzig for 20 million.
In addition to the training and reinforcement of players, each team also has an intersection in team management and coaching. City Football Group has a database of data so that other clubs can learn how top teams like Manchester City train, rehabilitation techniques and more. Former Melbourne City coach Eric Monbeltz has worked at Manchester City before taking charge, which also shows that the City Football Group supports each other in coaching, management and other aspects. The layout of the City Football Group continues, and they are constantly exploring their own football empire.