Contemporary Strategy Analysis, 10th Edition

Case 16Manchester City:Building a Multinational Soccer Enterprise*

In August 2008, Manchester City Football Club (MCFC) was acquired for £210 million (€262m) by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a businessman and member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family. The change in ownership marked the beginning of a new era for Manchester City and its long‐suffering fans. Between August 2008 and January 2018, Manchester City spent £1,350 million on acquiring new players and £250 million on new facilities—a level of investment unmatched by any other European club. In 2012, MCFC was crowned champion of the English Premier League—the first time in 44 years—and from 2012 to 2018, it was the most successful club in British soccer.

However, the rise of Manchester City has not simply a story of a super‐star team built on Middle Eastern wealth. Between 2008 and 2018, Manchester City's owners created an organizational structure and management system that was unlike that of any other soccer club. City Football Group Ltd. (CFG) was formed in May 2013, initially to take ownership of MCFC, but also to act as a holding company for a global portfolio of football investments. By 2018, CFG had equity stakes in six football clubs on five continents, alliances with seven other football clubs, and a management system for leveraging these relationships. The key question, both for CFG and for those football clubs that lacked such scope, was: could such a global portfolio, backed by an international management system, ...