City Football Group, the holding company that owns Manchester City and New York City FC, plan to set up a franchise in the booming Chinese Super League as the next step in their global expansion, club sources have told ESPN FC.
The group's aim is to have a network involving one team with the title 'City' on each continent, creating unique commercial opportunities while greatly strengthening their flagship Premier League club's identity, and China is viewed as the natural next destination.
The Chinese Super League has seen an unprecedented explosion in expenditure over the past two months, with its clubs spending almost a quarter of a billion pounds on players like Ezequiel Lavezzi, Ramires and Alex Teixeira, marking it as the fastest growing league in football.