MANCHESTER CITY’S owners have made Italian side Palermo the 11th club in their stable.
The City Football Group have been in talks over buying the Sicily-based Serie B club for several weeks and local reports say they paid around £11.5million for a majority stake.
Ferran Soriano, CEO of City Football Group and Dario Mirri, President of Palermo FC Credit: Alamy The deal was confirmed on Monday morning and the CFG see huge potential with Palermo, who play matches at the 36,000 capacity Stadio Renzo Barbera.
The original club – who played in the Europa League as recently as 2010/11 – were declared bankrupt in 2019.
They reformed as a Phoenix club and started back in the fourth tier but have already won two promotions – beating Padova in a play-off earlier this summer.
CFG Chief executive Ferran Soriano said: “Palermo is a great and historic Club with a strong and proud identity.
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Sign up to Sun Vegas now for a £10 bonus – with NO deposit required! “This is a very special club, and our role will be to add value to all of the things which make it so special and steadily improve performance on and off the pitch, using our experience and know how.
“Italy is one of the world’s most exciting and passionate football countries, with a rich history of national team and club’s success, passionate supporters and a track record of fantastic footballers.
“We are delighted that City Football Group has extended its presence in Italy.”
Palermo chairman Dario Mirri will stay in his current role and added: “We wanted to find the right investor with a deep knowledge of football to help to continue to take us forward. We have that in CFG.
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“We agreed the investment before the end of the season so we know we have a partner which is committed to growing Palermo in the right way.
“I am excited to continue to work alongside CFG. They understand and respect the culture and traditions of our club.
“We are embarking on a project together which I know all of our fans will be proud of. “
Based in Manchester, CFG have clubs in New York, Melbourne, Uruguay, India, Japan and China.
In Europe they own several more teams – Girona, Troyes and Lommel as well as the current Prem champions.
Additionally, they have a “partner club” in Bolivia – Club Bolivar. They are also in talks about acquiring a stake in Brazilian outfit Bahia.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
