Kieran Maguire: Man City to match Chelsea as Dutch and Brazilian deals on the cards
Man City are desperate to follow in Chelsea’s footsteps and garner a truly global fanbase – and they have a roadmap to do so through their global network of clubs.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about City Football Group’s ever-expanding empire.
The collective, which was founded by City’s Abu Dhabi owners in 2013, now owns 11 clubs worldwide and recently added Italian Serie B side Palermo to their portfolio.
As per iNews on Thursday (7 June), the group are now in talks with Brazilian second-tier club Bahia and are also sounding out a number of Dutch sides ahead of a potential takeover.
The report comes just weeks after City Football Group’s bid to buy NAC Breda collapsed at the 11th hour after a fan backlash.
Maguire claims that City’s expansionism is a play to elevate their brand to the level of Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool.
“I think City would like to have representations in as broad a market as possible,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“The advantage of having group representation is that it builds up interest in the City Football Group brand. Ultimately, that is going to focus on Man City as the core club within the brand.
“It’s extremely attractive potentially to sponsors because Man City are still in a growth phase despite having won the Premier League four years out of the last five.
“They still have to develop a global legacy fanbase that Liverpool, Man United and, relatively recently, Chelsea have managed to do.
“City will be encouraged by what they have seen at Chelsea in that they are now seen as the premier London club as far as global interest is concerned.
“City can now use a different strategy in terms of having satellite clubs. They can now go to sponsors and offer multiple clubs with similar kits and styles. That makes it appealing to sponsors and commercial entities.”
In other news, Kevin Campbell issues emphatic Jack Grealish claim after Man City transfer update via Sky.