Manchester City announce £265m deal with Chinese investment group

The consortium has joined the Premier League's richest owners on the board after taking 13 percent stake in the Citizens

Tony Marshall/Getty A general view of the stadium

Manchester City have announced an investment deal worth £265m with a consortium of Chinese businessmen.

Current owners of the Etihad side, City Football Group (CFG), revealed a 13 percent stake has been agreed with investors led by CMC (China Media Capital) Holdings.

The firm is China’s leading media, entertainment, sports and internet dedicated investment and operating company. CMC Holdings recently paid $1.3bn for China domestic football TV rights as Premier League football continues its growing popularity across the globe.

Manchester City are owned by Qatar-based City Football Group,run by Sheikh Mansour, deputy prime minister of the UAE and member of the ruyling family of Abu Dhabi.


Sheikh Mansour is the richest owner in the Premier League


Christopher Furlong
Man City won the Premier League in 2012

Sheikh Mansour is worth £20billion and is the Premier League's richest owner by some way, worth more than twice what Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is. His group also owns New York City and Melbourne City.

City have a reputation for spending big on new signings, with the likes of Sergio Aguero arriving for £38m in 2011 and the extra investment could lead to rumours of even more spending.

Manuel Pellegrini's side have been linked with Barcelona star Lionel Messi who would reportedly cost around £40m in wages.

The deal announced follows a visit to Manchester last month by the President of China, Xi Jinping.

Speaking about the partnership, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of City Football Group said: "Football is the most loved, played and watched sport in the world and in China, the exponential growth pathway for the game is both unique and hugely exciting.

"We have therefore worked hard to find the right partners and to create the right deal structure to leverage the incredible potential that exists in China, both for CFG and for football at large.

"Our partners have an incredible track record of creating value and could not be better placed to help us further evolve City Football Group. Our belief is that we now have an unrivalled platform to grow CFG, our clubs and companies both in China and internationally and we will be working hard with our new partners to realise the potential that this deal creates."

On behalf of the investing consortium, CMC Chairman Ruigang Li said: "Football is now at a fascinating and critical stage of development in China.

"We see unprecedented growth opportunities in both its development as an industry, being China’s most watched sport, and its inspirational role bringing people of all ages together with a shared passion."