May 5 – Brazil’s Bahia have become the latest club to join the City Football Group (CFG), the owners of English giants Manchester City.
CFG has purchased 90% of the club, leaving 10% to the club’s current administration in a split between the club’s football and the other operations. The deal is worth a reported $198.7 million.
“In Brazil, football is the number one sport but it’s not developed as it should from the economic point of view,” said CFG boss Ferran Soriano (pictured right).
“Today, the Premier League is what it is due to how it was structured. It will depend on us and the other Brazilian clubs to grow the championship in a general way.
“The potential is spectacular. It is the greatest source of talent in the world. The opportunity cannot be lost and I want to help.”
Soriano added: “We now begin a journey as partners to help the club reach its full potential.”
Bahia have not finished higher than eighth in the top tier since 2001. They have won the Brazilian league twice, with their most recent success coming in 1988. In the current campaign, they have played three matches, winning one and losing two.
“This is a long-term project,” said Soriano. ”Just look at Manchester City, which has won four of the last five Premier Leagues. It has taken 14 years of work to arrive at that point.”
Bahia is third South American club in the CFG ownership portfolio following Montevideo City Torque in Uruguay and partner club Bolivar in Bolivia. Overall Bahia are the 13th club worldwide with CFG ownership, the other clubs are: Manchester City, New York City FC, Melbourne City, Yokohama F Marinos, Girona, Sichuan Jiuniu, Mumbai City, Lommel, Troyes and Palermo.
Guilherme Bellintani (pictured left), president of Bahia, said: “Bahia becoming a City Football Group club is an exciting new chapter in the great history of a pioneering club since its founding in 1931. We move forward with the support and energy of millions of fans and members…
“Now we will be able to benefit from being part of the most experienced and ambitious football organization in the world while strengthening our performance on and off the field, developing young talents who are the future of Brazilian football, and offering even better opportunities for Nação Tricolor, which has always It was the heart and reason for our club’s existence.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1714059879labto1714059879ofdlr1714059879owedi1714059879sni@i1714059879tnuk.1714059879ardni1714059879mas1714059879