Al Mubarak says Sheikh Mansour will not sell City Football Group, now worth $10bn

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has confirmed that Sheikh Mansour has no plans to sell the club or the wider City Football Group, which he values at a minimum of $10 billion after being acquired for approximately $100-120 million in 2008.

Speaking publicly about the group’s financial trajectory, Al Mubarak outlined how CFG’s valuation has grown in stages — from $1 billion, to $2 billion, to $3 billion, at which point external investors began buying in. The group subsequently climbed to $5 billion, then $6 billion, $7 billion, and beyond $8 billion, with Al Mubarak arguing the current market value would not fall below $10 billion.

“Sheikh Mansour, when he looks at this club, he sees it as a long-term investment,” Al Mubarak said. “Of course, His Highness has no intention of selling this business, but over time, new shareholders come in at different value points that show how that value is really growing.”

A key element of that growth strategy, Al Mubarak explained, has been reinvesting revenue back into the business rather than extracting profits. “Sheikh Mansour took a very important choice which was that the money stays in because we’re going to keep building this,” he said.

American private equity fund Silver Lake paid $500 million for a stake in CFG in 2019 and now holds an 18 percent shareholding, while the Abu Dhabi United Group retains 81 percent.

The investment has coincided with significant on-pitch success at Manchester City. Under Pep Guardiola, the club has won eight Premier League titles, three domestic trebles, and the 2023 UEFA Champions League.

CFG’s portfolio now spans 11 clubs across multiple continents. Alongside Manchester City, the group owns Melbourne City, Montevideo City Torque, and Troyes outright, holds near-total ownership of Lommel, Bahia, and Palermo, a majority stake in New York City FC, and minority stakes in Girona, Yokohama F. Marinos, and Shenzhen Peng City, in addition to several partner clubs.