Manchester City's owners are unlikely to sell the club even if the appeal against the Premier League's charges fails, according to experts, as the business value and global brand outweigh any reputational damage. The club's future ownership has come under scrutiny amid the ongoing legal dispute over financial rules.
Legal Battle and Ownership Questions
The spotlight has fallen on City's owners, Sheikh Mansour and the Abu Dhabi government, following the cheating scandal. The Premier League's case against the club has raised questions about the owners' long-term commitment, but analysts suggest a sale is improbable.
David Kogan, chair of the independent football regulator, said this week that they "have the power to ask an owner to step away from a club if we believe that they run a club in a way that is neither fit, fair or done with propriety." However, this is seen as the only likely scenario where the owners would sell.
Business Considerations Over Emotion
Ross Griffin, a professor at Qatar University and Middle East Editor for The International Journal of the History of Sport, dismissed the idea that the owners would sell due to bruised egos. "They are astute businessmen who will say let's take our kicking here, take the punishment and come back as strong as ever," he said.
Griffin added that selling the club would make no financial sense, given the difficulty of buying another Premier League club. "It's bloody hard to buy a football club, particularly one in the Premier League. If they were to sell up, with the exposure and profile and revenue that a club like City bring, to do it again would cost untold billions - if it was even possible," he said.
Reputation and Investment
James Dorsey, academic and author of The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, noted that the UAE has weathered larger controversies. "This is damaging, but in some ways the UAE is a Teflon state. And it is a Teflon state because it buys the Teflon," he said.
Despite the scandal, the owners remain invested in Manchester, with a £300m redevelopment around the North Stand and a major shareholding in Co-Op Live, a concert venue that recently hosted an audience with US president Barack Obama. A new venue for Mamma Mia: The Party is also planned for next year, with 600 seats per show.
Global Brand and Future
City's global fanbase means matchday revenue is a small part of the club's commercial value. CEO Ferran Soriano said in 2023 that UK supporters make up less than three per cent of the overall fanbase. "The Premier League is a business, as much as people like to believe in an ideal of sport," Griffin said.
Even if the appeal fails, the owners have millions of reasons to stay involved, with the club's global profile and revenue streams ensuring continued investment.
