It was after ATK won the second Indian Super League (ISL) title that the then co-owner Sanjiv Goenka made a bombastic claim. This was at a function where the club was celebrating their second title in three seasons.
“Have you ever seen this much frenzy for any other team in Kolkata? We are now much more popular than any other club in Kolkata,” exclaimed Goenka as he couldn’t hide his joy on achieving sporting success with the Kolkata franchise.
Just a little over two years later, Goenka’s RPSG Group announced that a new entity would come into existence in June 2020 with ATK and Mohun Bagan merging to form a new unit.