Manchester City owners City Football Group acquire French Ligue 2 outfit Troyes to extend global portfolio

London: Manchester City’s parent company has invested in French Ligue 2 side Troyes, taking the total number of clubs in its global stable to 10. The City Football Group will become the new majority shareholder in Troyes after buying the stake from previous owner Daniel Masoni. Along with Manchester City and Troyes, CFG also owns New York City, Melbourne City, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, Montevideo City Torque in Uruguay, Girona in Spain, Sichuan Jiuniu in China, Mumbai City in India and Lommel SK in Belgium. Troyes were fourth in the French second tier last season before the 2019/20 campaign was abandoned due to the coronavirus. Ferran Soriano, chief executive of CFG, said: “We have had an interest in French football for some time and have long admired ESTAC (Troyes), so we are delighted to have completed the acquisition of our 10th club and have a permanent presence in France. “This is a milestone for City Football Group and demonstrates how our model continues to adapt and grow in a relatively short space of time. “At City Football Group, our objective remains to play beautiful football, identify and develop grassroots talent and have a permanent presence in the world’s football centres.”