Manchester City: the president confirms that the club will not be sold, the valuation reaches new heights

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has sought to clarify the future of the club by saying that Sheikh Mansour has absolutely no plans to sell his shares. Since its takeover by the Emirati leader in 2008, the English club and the City Football Group (CFG), which owns eleven clubs around the world, have experienced spectacular growth. The value of the group has exploded: from an initial amount of around $100 to $120 million at the time of the buyout, it has now reached, according to Al Mubarak, more than $10 billion.

Under the Mansour era, Manchester City made significant investments, particularly in the transfer window and salaries. These efforts have led to dominance on the domestic stage (eight Premier League titles, three trebles, 2023 Champions League), while remaining profitable and continually reinvesting in its growth. The president explains: “At Sheikh Mansour, this is a long-term investment. He has no intention of selling this asset. »

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Al Mubarak points out that the arrival of new investors at different stages has helped drive up the valuation of CFG. The American fund Silver Lake, for example, now holds 18% of the group after an investment of $500 million made in 2019, while the Abu Dhabi United Group still holds 81% of the shares.

In addition to Manchester City, the CFG group owns all of Melbourne City, Montevideo City Torque and Troyes, almost all of Lommel, Bahia and Palermo, as well as the majority of New York City FC. CFG also has minority stakes in Girona, Yokohama F. Marinos and Shenzhen Peng City, in addition to partnerships with several other clubs around the world.

For Al Mubarak, maintaining profits in the structure allows this growth dynamic to continue. He estimates that a hypothetical current sale of the City Football Group would not be for less than $10 billion, proof of the success of the model put in place by Sheikh Mansour and his shareholders.