City Football Group acquires Bahia

City Football Group, owner of Manchester City, has completed the acquisition of Esporte Clube Bahia, one of the country’s top soccer leagues, located in northeastern Brazil.

Bahía is the 13th club of an international company (City Football Group), which includes clubs such as New York City FC, Melbourne City FC and, more recently, Palermo.

The deal for a 90% stake in Bahia is worth 1 billion Brazilian reais, equivalent to £158 million at current exchange rates. It was CFG’s largest investment in the acquisition of a football club after Manchester City of the Premier League.

The management of the Bahia club will own the remaining 10%. They will also have all the rights to the patrimonial elements of the Bahia club, such as the club’s colors and the club’s emblem.

Addressing the Bahia fans, Ferran Soriano, CFG’s general director, said: “Thank you for trusting us to manage your club. We started working together. The Bahia and City teams will start working together for the next season and all the projects will be completed.” saying.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Soriano said: “This moment is extremely important to us. Today we celebrate our first day of what will be a long-term project and the first day of our journey to bring Bahia to its full potential.” saying.

“The responsibility is immense. All our clubs, including Bahía, have a history, but Bahía is an exceptional club for its size. Bahía will be the second largest club in the group. We also understand that Bahía is part of the Bahía community.”

“It is fundamental in our strategy not only to preserve but to deepen this relationship between Bahia and society. We want Bahía to grow in sports, economy and society”.