From Manchester to Melbourne - 10 clubs City Football Group have invested in

Manchester City are the Abu Dhabi group's flagship club, and on Saturday will play the biggest game in the club's history

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When Manchester City line up in Saturday's Champions League final, it will not only be the biggest game in the club's history but the realisation of a journey to put Abu Dhabi on the global footballing map.

In 2012, City hired Ferran Soriano as the club's new chief executive. The Spaniard had a long-term ambition to create a global football business entity. With the backing of City Football Group, headed by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, he had the financial means to make it a reality.

While Manchester City would become City Football Group's flagship club, Soriano and Sheikh Mansour's ambitions would not be limited to England's Premier League.

Over the next nine years the group would set about acquiring stakes in clubs across the world that would transform those clubs' fortunes. On May 7, 2012 New York City FC was born and two weeks later were unveiled as the 20th team to join the MLS. With a majority stake in the new upstart, it was the green shoots of City Football Group's global expansion.

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Manchester United - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - December 7, 2019   Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Chief Executive Ferran Soriano in the stands  Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff/File Photo  EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications.  Please contact your account representative for further details.
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano. Reuters

Investment in clubs in Australia and Japan soon followed, with Melbourne Heart adopting the City name, while Yokohama F Marinos became the fourth club in the CFG stable.

CFG's footprint is truly global, with Montevideo City Torque (Uruguay), Girona FC (Spain), Sichuan Jiuniu (China), Mumbai (India), Lommel (Belgium) and Troyes (France) all under the group's umbrella.

10 clubs City Football Group have invested in

1. Manchester City, England (100%)

2. Melbourne City, Australia (100%)

3. Montevideo City Torque, Uruguay (100%)

4. Lommel SK Belgium, (99%)

5. New York City FC, United States (80%)

6. Mumbai City FC, India (65%)

7. Girona FC, Spain (44.3%)

8. Sichuan Jiuniu, China (29.7%)

9. Yokohama F Marinos, Japan (20%)

10. Troyes AC, France (100%)

How Man City became a super club under Abu Dhabi ownership

How Man City became a super club under Abu Dhabi ownership

City Football Group

CFG is owned by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) (77%), the China Media Capital (CMC) Consortium (13%), and Silver Lake (10%). Until December 2015, City Football Group was wholly owned by ADUG, a private investment and development company belonging to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed.