Manchester City’s owner is set to announce the purchase of Chinese third-tier club Sichuan Jiuniu, the latest acquisition to its growing portfolio of clubs around the world.
The City Football Group has been searching for a new project in China having sold a 13% share of the company – owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family – in 2015 to the private equity groups China Media Capital and CITIC Capital. CFG has stakes in clubs in New York, Australia, Japan, Spain and Uruguay, and the partnership with Jiuniu is expected to be confirmed at a press conference on Wednesday.
A statement on the club’s website on Monday revealed that CFG’s chief executive, Ferran Soriano, would be present, with reports in China having stated that negotiations for the takeover began last year. Jiuniu, based in Chengdu in the Sichuan province, were established in 2006 after the disbandment of the former Chinese Super League side Sichuan Guancheng and play in League Two at the 42,000-seat Longquanyi Stadium.
CFG set up an office in Shanghai in March 2016 and the new partnership is the latest step in its growing involvement in China. An office in Shenzhen opened last year with the intention of overseeing the development of local players, and it has also helped fund the opening of a youth academy in Beijing.
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