How Manchester City became the Disney of Football

Manchester, globally, used to be seen as the home of Manchester United, while Manchester City was very secondary in the minds of

football

fans outside of England. United considered its neighbors absolutely inferior. Sir Alex Ferguson cited United's rivals as Liverpool, Arsenal and Leeds. In that order. That says a lot about how far Manchester City was from the elite of English

football

. Fast forward to today and Man City are on top. Not only English but European football. Many would simply attribute their recent success to heavy investment from Abu Dhabi. But it wasn't as simple as spending large amounts of money and achieving overnight success.

Similar attempts failed. Málaga received a strong Qatari investment in 2010. Eight years later it was relegated from the League. With Manchester City there was no such misfortune. Indeed, it was the behind-the-scenes rise of the City Football Group that was the key driver of a decade-long, billion-pound revolution at the club that changed the football landscape forever. Welcome to sporting interest - this is the story of how Manchester City

became

the first truly global football organisation. For a long time, City were a club that lurched between divisions with a series of relegations and promotions. The league result then progressively improved as they consistently finished between mid-table and the bottom end of the Premier League table.

Until September 1, 2008, a date that would forever change the course of Manchester City's history. They were acquired by Abu Dhabi United Group, transforming the mid-table Premier League club into a dynasty in the making. On the day the group completed the takeover, City signed Robinho for a club record fee of over £30m, immediately highlighting the new owners' intent. They then spent another £270m on players such as Vincent Company, Pablo Zabaleta, Emmanuel Adebayor, Mario Balotelli and Carlo Tevez. However, the first success did not come before a new coach, Roberto Mancini, was brought in. Under him, the club signed more notable players, qualified for the Champions League for the first time and won the FA Cup.

The first major trophy in 35 years. But they weren't finished. The group continued investing. Manchini signed Sergio Agüero for £38m, among others, in 2012. City won their final six games of the season and won their first title in 44 years. In the following years City continued their rise winning more Premier League, FA and League Cup titles. Now it may seem like this all came down to almost £2bn of investment. And yes, Abu Dhabi's investment played a very important role. However, there is more to it than initially meets the eye. The success City have had over the last decade probably wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the emergence of a company at the bottom.

The City Football Group took the club to new heights, not only because they spent tons of money but because they pioneered a strategy never before seen in the world of football. There are three key players in Manchester City's success. The two dominating the headlines are Sheikh Mansour in Zayed al-Nayan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, and Khaldoon al-Mubarak, a young executive and advisor to the royal family. Very simplified: those two bring the money. But money doesn't bring success if you don't know how to spend it. You need a strategy! The third player enters: Ferran Soriano.

As the former vice president and chief financial officer of Barcelona, ​​Soriano had bold plans to build the first truly global football organization. He tried to do something that other clubs like his former employer had never wanted to do. Establish franchise clubs in other countries. He highlighted the role and potential of franchises in football along with the contribution merchandise could make to club revenues. His idea was to create a corporation that had a combination of a global brand, such as Manchester City, and many local brands, developing talent across a network of clubs, which would provide a pipeline of players for City.

More importantly, he foresaw the convergence of entertainment and sports in a globalized world. Soriano saw the potential of the link between the growth of a large club's fan bases around the world and their transformation into global entertainment companies rather than simply promoters of local events. To realize this long-term vision, the City Football Group was created in 2013. A corporation that included a conglomerate of clubs from all over the world. CFG already owns or co-owns 10 clubs across five continents, including the contracts of hundreds of professional players and carefully selected talents. In 2014 they spent £150 million to build a new training and youth development facility for the first team known as the City Football Academy.

CFG will scour the world for players, refining and shaping them in state-of-the-art academies on several continents, selling them or sending the best to the clubs it will own. An example would be this: using the club network, players can progress from Club Atlético Torque to Girona FC and Manchester City before finishing their careers in India at Mumbai City, China at Sichuan Jiuniu or the United States at New York. Through this integrated network, players will become more comfortable with the style of other CFG clubs, those clubs will have inside information on the players, while transfer income will end up in a single corporate fund.

This has similarities with the Red Bull franchise made up of Salzburg, New York, Leipzig and Bragantino. Multi-team ownership groups have become a growing force changing the future of football. In that sense, CFG was an innovative company. Buying clubs   and developing players on different continents, sharing medical and scouting data across borders   but also attracting sponsor involvement and spreading the City name around the world. Thus, in addition to the on-field benefits, the club network provides CFG with the ability to further develop commercial presence and fan engagement. CFG has continued its expansion into new digital technologies. For example, the development of its Citizen Membership Platform and the club's participation in the Amazon television series "all or nothing", becoming the first football club to appear in the hit series.

This is just one example of CFG's influence as a pioneer in the evolution of content. Manchester City also launched its own streaming subscription service, partnered with Intel to trial the company's Trueview immersive display technology and, most recently,

became

the first team to create its own kids' YouTube channel. CFG has also invested in Sapphire Sport. A venture capital fund. Focused on technology and digital sports, the fund plans to make five to six seed investments each year. In this way, CFG benefits from exploring esports, digital health and next-generation media, all of which fit perfectly into Soriano's vision of CFG as the center of entertainment and sports.

CFG's rise has been monumental. But it has not been without failures. The Australian league introduced new rules after the CFG circumvented the league's ban on inter-club transfer fees. City bought a local player by outbidding Australian clubs for a transfer fee before loaning him outright to Melbourne. The league responded by banning the practice for the first year after the signing. City received a two-year ban from the Champions League for serious breaches of UEFA financial fair play rules, which never happened because it was overturned by the court of arbitration for sport. However, the club was fined £9 million for failing to cooperate with UEFA investigations.

With CFG's growth comes scrutiny from Abu Dhabi's major shareholders. Allegations of human rights violations of migrant construction workers in the country, along with the region's attitude towards LGBT and women's rights, have already impacted the company. They were planning to build a New York City FC stadium in a park in Queens, but were prevented from doing so by public opposition due to these concerns. There have been clubs completely transformed by financially powerful owners before the arrival of Sheikh Mansour. But none like Manchester City. The last decade represents a story of success, growth and notable development off the field.

City Football Group now has a valuation of $4.8 billion. Sheikh Mansour and Abu Dhabi United Group have invested heavily in Manchester City, but the club's global success cannot be attributed solely to their investment. CFG is a paradigm of the 21st century football business that combines the various sectors of money, entertainment and technology. As Soriano himself stated: In the CFG football is often the means to an end, not just an end in itself. Both parties agreed that City should aspire to be the best club in the world. A position that Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United have occupied for a long time.

With the backing of Mansour and Mubarak, Soriano is revolutionizing football's established order by building its first true multinational corporation. The Disney of football that other clubs could try to emulate in the coming decades. We don't have any sheikhs to support us, we are proud to have sponsors! If you want to support us, click the link in the description and maybe you will receive recognition like our new MVP Leo Salinas. Thank you!