Mumbai City FC to be bought by iconic Manchester City? Ranbir Kapoor co-owned team set to land big deal

In what could be a big boost for the football scene in India, the owners of Premier League champions Manchester City are set to acquire a majority stake in Indian Super League (ISL) football team Mumbai City FC. A source with direct knowledge of the development was quoted as saying by Reuters that Manchester City might end up investing in the Mumbai-based club. Manchester City is the crown jewel of the City Football Group (CFG), which is majority owned by Abu Dhabi-based Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The club has emerged as one of the leaders in English football, winning the premier league four times in the last decade, producing several big players like Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and James Milner in the process. The club currently sits behind Liverpool on the second spot in the English premier league. The coach is none other than the legendary Pep Guardiola.

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"The investment will showcase the interest of the world in Indian football," said the source, who asked not to be named as the talks were private. Both City Football Group and Mumbai City FC are yet to comment on the matter. CFG, which will outline the details of the deal at a news event in the Indian financial hub of Mumbai on Thursday, already owns majority stakes in seven soccer teams in countries ranging from the United States to China.

Mumbai City, which is co-owned by Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, has had the likes of Freddie Ljungberg, Nicolas Anelka and Diego Forlan as their marquee players in the past, and they are currently placed seventh in the 10-team ISL. The deal is set to be announced just a day after CFG agreed to sell a $500 million stake to US private equity firm Silver Lake, making it the world`s most valuable soccer group with a $4.8 billion price tag.