Mumbai: The owners of Manchester City, City Football Group (CFG), are on the lookout to invest in Indian Super League (ISL) outfit Mumbai City FC.
Goal can reliably state that the City Football Group have been in advanced talks with Mumbai City FC to invest in the ISL club which is currently owned by Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor and Bimal Parekh, who is a well known chartered accountant and Bollywood film producer.
Besides the Premier League champions, the group has under its wings New York City FC (MLS), Melbourne City FC (A-League), Girona (LaLiga), Club Atletico Torque (Uruguay) and Yokohama F. Marinos (J.League).
CFG also recently bought shares in Chinese third-tier side Sichuan Jiuniu.
CFG officials were in India last year and had even attended an ISL game between Jamshedpur FC and Mumbai City. They were present in the country for about 10 days and termed India as a ‘land of opportunity’.
CFG’s CEO Ferran Soriano said, “With all these developments we have to be patient.”
“We have some interest in some markets and countries where there is a genuine football passion and opportunities, like China, but also India. So there might be other opportunities in Asia,” he added.
“We’ve been looking at India for nearly two years now. I’d say this year we’ll end up doing an investment in India.”
The plans of the CFG expansion seem big, as explained by Soriano. “As we see it now, there is a natural pace of growth that we will follow that takes us to more than seven teams, but not 100 teams,” said the former Barcelona vice-president.
“I cannot see 10 years ahead but the group might have two or three teams more. Is this going to change in five years and we’re going to have more? Maybe, I don’t know that.
“But to complete the vision that we had six years ago, I think we will have maybe two or three clubs more.”
Mumbai City FC, coached by former Portugal international Jorge Costa, has reached the play-offs of the ongoing ISL season.
