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City Football Group Confirm Purchase of Chinese Club Sichuan Jiuniu
February 20, 2019
The parent company of Manchester City, the City Football Group (CFG), confirmed on Wednesday that it has purchased Chinese club Sichuan Jiuniu FC.
As Jamie Jackson of the Guardian relayed, it is the seventh football club to be purchased under its umbrella, and the first from China.
In a statement, it's noted the purchase has been jointly made by CFG, Ubtech—which specialises in AI and robotics—and China Sports Capital, which is a fund established by CFG in partnership with Sequoia China in 2017.
Ferran Soriano, who is chief executive of CFG, said "today marks an exciting new chapter in the growth of City Football Group" and noted that China represents "an extremely important football market, which we have been focused on for some time."
In addition to the Chinese outfit, the CFG has acquired La Liga's Girona, Major League Soccer's New York City, the A-League's Melbourne City, Japan's Yokohama F Marinos and Uruguay's Club Atletico Torque.
As Rob Harris of the Press Association noted, links have been established between CFG and China since 2015:
CFG was founded in 2014 to administer ownership of football clubs to Abu Dhabi United Group, which completed a takeover of Manchester City in 2008.
Following the purchase, the Premier League side have been able to establish themselves as a superpower of European football, winning three top-flight titles, including last season's record-breaking 100-point haul.