Manchester City’s club owners have been the City Football Group, led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, since 2008.

Manchester City’s club owners have been the City Football Group, led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, since 2008.

He finalised a 100% acquisition of the club from Thaksin Shinawatra in 2009.

The City Football Group is a holding company that owns a number of football clubs. It took its name from Manchester City when founded in 2013 with the Premier League club the jewel in its portfolio. Sheikh Mansour owns 81% of CFG through Abu Dhabi-based Newton Investment and Development.

Manchester city owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (C) looks on during the English Premier League football match against Liverpool at The Cit…

When did Sheikh Mansour become Manchester City’s club owner?

Former Thai prime minister Shinawatra sold 90% of his shares as the sole owner of Manchester City to Sheikh Mansour for £210m in September 2008. He had wanted to retain a greater shareholding as part of the takeover and enter a partnership. Sheikh Mansour bought the remaining 10% a year later.

Sheikh Mansour secured 100% of the shares in Manchester City after Jack Srisumrid and Victor Restis resigned as directors. Shinawatra had named the Thai businessman and the Greek shipping tycoon as his nominees in October 2008. He handed them custodianship following his conviction of corruption.

The Premier League no longer deemed Shinawatra to be a fit and proper person to own up to 30% of a club or act as a director following his conviction. Shinawatra was the sole owner of Manchester City from June 2007. He gained control of the Citizens for £21.5m and made £20m profit after 15 months.

John Wardle and David Makin, who were Manchester City’s majority shareholders, earned £17.5m as part of Shinawatra’s takeover in 2007. But Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in 2008 left around £170m to cover Manchester City’s increasing levels of debts. The Citizens were £60m in doubt as of June 2007.

What have Manchester City won since Sheikh Mansour became their owner?

A detailed view of the Premier League trophy is seen prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City at London Stadiu…

Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images

Sheikh Mansour has continued to pump millions upon millions of pounds into Manchester City since becoming the club’s owner. His investment into the Etihad Stadium natives has also turned a team that was enduring a mediocre spell into one of the most successful and dominant clubs in England.

The Citizens have endlessly added to Manchester City’s trophy history with Sheikh Mansour as their owner. His funds delivered the club’s first FA Cup title in 41 years during the 2010/11 season. He has also funded seven Premier League titles, six EFL Cups, three FA Cups and a Champions League title.

What other sports franchises does Sheikh Mansour own?

Sheikh Mansour’s tenure as owner of Manchester City gave birth to the City Football Group in 2013. It was the brainchild of Citizens CEO Ferran Soriano to create a global entity that oversees a number of football clubs. Manchester City are the flagship asset in CFG’s now worldwide portfolio of outfits.

Manchester City’s parent company also co-owns MLS franchise New York City FC with Yankee Global Enterprises. CFG owns 80% of the shares in the team founded in May 2013. While the owners of the Major League Baseball giants, New York Yankees, control the other 20% stake in New York City FC.

CFG further encompasses varying stakes in clubs around the world including Australian A-League side Melbourne City. It also owns shares in Uruguayan outfit Montevideo City Torque, French club Troyes, Belgian side Lommel, Indian outfit Mumbai City, Spanish side Girona and Chinese club Sichuan Jiuniu.

Manchester City’s owners also control a stake in the Japanese J-League side Yokohama F Marinos and Italian club Palermo. While CFG also has a hand in the Brazilian market through Esporte Clube Bahia. It has continually sought to grow its portfolio to enhance the mutual network shared between its teams.

How much is Sheikh Mansour worth? What is his net worth?

Pep Guardiola meets HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Presidential Affairs Office in Abu Dhabi on March 14, 2018 in Abu Dhabi, United Ar…

Photo by Victoria Haydn/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour controls 81% of the City Football Group. He has previously sold shares in it to US private equity firm Silver Lake and the Chinese investors, China Media Capital. Silver Lake also increased its shareholding in the collective to in excess of 18% in November 2022.

China Media Capital reduced its shareholding in CFG to virtually zero after selling its stake to Silver Lake. While Forbes cited the City Football Group’s net worth at $5.9bn (£4.7bn) as of January 2023. The value of CFG makes it the 12th most valuable sports empire in the world on Forbes’ 2023 list.

Also according to Forbes, as of May 2022, Manchester City are the sixth most valuable football club in the world. The Citizens are now worth $4.25bn (£3.4bn), making them the third most valuable club in the Premier League. While The Sun reported Sheikh Mansour’s net worth is £17bn as of April 2023.

Manchester City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour, has predominantly amassed his personal wealth from his International Petroleum Investment Company. He has also been the United Arab Emirates deputy prime minister and minister of the presidential court. While he is now the vice president as of April 2023.