Finance guru issues ‘exclusive’ claim as Man City line up controversial move
Man City parent company City Football Group may want to relocate Chengdu Rongcheng in order to obtain “exclusivity” in a different region in China.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the fate of City Football Group’s Chinese outpost.
CFG own 11 clubs worldwide and are closing in on adding a 12th in form of Brazilian second-division side Bahia.
But Chengdu, who play in the second tier of Chinese football, are one of the only sides in their portfolio not to have lived up to expectations in recent years.
As relayed by The Athletic last Monday (3 October), CFG are now considering moving the club from Chengdu, China’s fifth-most populous city, to Changsha, its 17th.
The 700-mile move would, as with all relocation attempts in football, cause intense controversy among supporters.
Plumley suggests that the plot is likely driven by potential commercial revenue opportunities.
“I think the main thing is that it’s China, so it’s still going to be a huge population that can comfortably house a professional football team,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“City are very much driven by commercial decisions and it will be something commercial that is driving this.
“You could argue that, if you move them to that particular region, it gives some exclusivity that wasn’t available in Chengdu. If they can be the biggest club in the region, there is less competition in the market.
“More broadly, we are looking at an American-style model where you’re moving franchises left, right and centre.
“But with City, you are always looking at a commercial play. Moving it to a, shall we say, quieter location tends to allow you to leverage that even better.“
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