Report: Man City's Parent Group Agree Deal to Buy La Liga Club Girona
Manchester City's parent group have agreed a deal to buy a major stake in Spanish club Girona, the Guardian have reported.
The newly-promoted La Liga club are set to become the sixth side included in the City Football Group.
The terms will reportedly give CFG close to a 50% share, along with Media Base, an agency owned by Pere Guardiola, brother of Pep, while the remainder will continue to be owned by a supporters federation.
City and Girona had already established an unofficial partnership, with the Premier League club sending a number of young players on loan to Spain in recent years.
Pablo Maffeo, Aleix García, Douglas Luiz, Marlos Moreno and Larry Kayode all moved on loan to the Catalan club this summer.
City have played a part in Girona's rise to La Liga, a division they had never reached prior to their debut top flight appearance against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
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Girona will join start-up MLS franchise New York City FC, Australian A-League side Melbourne City FC, Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos and Club Atlético Torque in Uruguay as part of Sheikh Mansour's growing conglomerate.
As CFG look to continue their global expansion, they have also reportedly been considering buying two clubs in China.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, speaking in 2015, said: “Football is the most loved, played and watched sport in the world and in China, the exponential growth pathway for the game is both unique and hugely exciting.
"We have therefore worked hard to find the right partners and to create the right deal structure to leverage the incredible potential that exists in China, both for CFG and for football at large.”
