Manchester City Football Club, sometimes abbreviated to Man City or City, is a football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won five league titles, five FA Cups, five League Cups, five FA Community Shields, and one European Cup Winners' Cup.
Founded in 1880, Manchester City entered the Football League in 1899 and won their first major honor with the FA Cup in 1904.
Manchester City's Abu Dhabi ownership has expanded its portfolio of soccer clubs by purchasing Sichuan Jiuniu FC, which plays in China's third tier.
The purchase was announced Wednesday.
Manchester City's revenue was the fifth highest of a football club in the world in the 2017–18 season at €527.7 million. In 2018, Forbes estimated the club was the fifth most valuable in the world at $2.47 billion.
City Football Group, of which English champion Man City is 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, and Club Atletico Torque in Uruguay. The group also has a "collaboration agreement" with Venezuelan team Atletico Venezuela.
Sichuan Jiuniu is based in Chengdu, plays in a 27,000-capacity stadium, and begins its new season next month.
CFG chief executive Ferran Soriano says "China is an extremely important football market, which we have been focused on for some time." He says CFG is "making a long-term, sustainable commitment to grow and develop Sichuan Jiuniu FC and to nurture Chinese footballing talent."
