Manchester City's Abu Dhabi ownership expands portfolio by acquiring Chinese club Sichuan Jiuniu FC

Manchester: Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi ownership has expanded its portfolio of soccer clubs by purchasing Sichuan Jiuniu FC, who play in China’s third tier. [caption id=“attachment_6119901” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Reuters[/caption] City Football Group, of which English champions City are the flagship team, already has the following partnership clubs: New York City in Major League Soccer, Melbourne City in Australia’s A-League, Girona in Spain’s top division, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, and Club Atletico Torque in Uruguay. The group also has a “collaboration agreement” with Venezuelan team Atletico Venezuela. Sichuan Jiuniu are based in Chengdu, play in a 27,000-capacity stadium, and begins their new season next month. CFG chief executive Ferran Soriano said “China is an extremely important football market, which we have been focused on for some time.” CFG is “making a long-term, sustainable commitment to grow and develop Sichuan Jiuniu FC and to nurture Chinese footballing talent,” he added. The purchase was announced Wednesday.