Finance guru: Man City could now complete nine big-money deals after news from Italy
Man City could conceivably add as many as nine new clubs to their multi-club empire.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about City Football Group’s ambitions for global domination.
The Abu Dhabi-financed collective currently own 11 clubs worldwide, with Man City the jewel in the crown.
They recently made Italian Serie B side Palermo their fifth purchase in Europe.
And per The I last Thursday (7 July), the group are now in talks with Brazilian second-tier club Bahia ahead of a potential takeover.
It is also claimed that City Football Group are sounding out several Dutch sides after their bid to buy Eerste Divisie side NAC Breda collapsed after a fan backlash earlier this year.
Plumley forecasts that the portfolio could grow to as large as 20 teams before City’s owners “draw the line”.
“I think there probably is an upper limit, and that will have been set internally,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Where exactly that could land is anyone’s guess. But they could end up with 13 potentially with these two on board.
“I think we’re best off looking at it from the point of view of asking, where are the markets that they want to target? We know Brazil is in that mix.
“Also, where else can they go and how wide does the portfolio go? We might see three or four more across different territories. It could even go up towards the region of 20 clubs.
“But you also have to be wary of exhausting it and having too many cubs in too many countries. However, it probably still had some legs to it yet. Key to this is where the owners draw the line.”
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