Manchester City owner adds 13th football club to extensive group portfolio

The owner of Premier League champions, Manchester City, has acquired its 13th football club, with the addition of Brazilian top tier side, Bahia, for an undisclosed sum.

The Salvador-based side, known as Esporte Clube Bahia, is the third South American club in the City Football Group (CFG) portfolio, along with Montevideo City Torque in Uruguay and partner club Bolivar in Bolivia, with the rest of the group made up of Manchester City, New York City FC, Melbourne City, Yokohama F Marinos, Girona, Sichuan Jiuniu, Mumbai City, Lommel, Troyes and Palermo.

CFG has acquired a 90% stake in Bahia, which has won the Brazilian title twice, the last time being 1988. However, Bahia has not finished higher than eighth since 2001.

Ferran Soriano, CFG boss, said the aim is to help Brazilian football grow financially, but he warned the task will take time.

He said: “In Brazil, football is the number one sport, but it’s not developed as it should from the economic point of view.

“Today, the Premier League is what it is due to how it was structured. It will depend on us and the other Brazilian clubs to grow the championship in a general way.

“The potential is spectacular. It is the greatest source of talent in the world. The opportunity cannot be lost and I want to help.”

He added: “We now begin a journey as partners to help the club reach its full potential.”

And he urged Bahia supporters to exercise patience for the journey ahead: “This is a long-term project. Just look at Manchester City, which has won four of the last five Premier Leagues. It has taken 14 years of work to arrive at that point.”