Man City owners buy another club after Premier League charges

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 11 Feb 2023 22:36 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester City have been charged with more than 100 breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations, but the Abu Dhabi-based owners aren't sitting around waiting for their punishment…

Indeed, they hope their recent acquisition of Brazilian giants Bahia will help prove the legitimacy of their economic model according to an exclusive report in the Daily Mirror.

The Premier League have referred City - their champions in four of the last five seasons - to an independent commission following alleged breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018.

READ: Man City sign lawyer whose pay will match De Bruyne's

It is currently unclear how quickly their punishment, if any, will be handed down to the Citizens, but the club's Abu Dhabi United Group owners have moved to add another entity to their portfolio in the meantime.

Bahia back buyout

"Blues' chief executive Ferran Soriano agreed terms for City to purchase a 90 percent stake after showing Bahia's board of directors an impressive plan for a club that has just won promotion back to Brazil’s Serie A division," write the Mirror.

"… they remain on course to finalise the link-up with Bahia next month after fans of the Salvador-based club voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposal. The new Brazilian season kicks off in mid-April - by which time Bahia will be part of the City Football Group fold."

READ: How the last 10 years would look if Man City's titles are stripped

The City Football Group already has 11 clubs under its umbrella, with Man City its most prominent, with entities from New York to Melbourne among their number.

City have a rich recent history of Brazilian players. Robinho was arguably the one who represented the first sea-change in the club's financial standing when he joined from Real Madrid in 2008.

Current No.1 Ederson was joined by Fernandinho and Gabriel Jesus in winning Premier League titles in recent seasons. But they cost City a combined €112 million, and the hope is that they could now harvest Brazilian talent for a fraction of that figure.