The Globalization of Manchester City Football Group

This case describes the efforts of City Football Group (CFG) to purchase Esporte Clube Bahia (Bahia), a Brazilian professional soccer club. CFG’s strategy was to acquire under-performing clubs worldwide, invest money in high-profile players, and improve the teams’ performances. The company also aimed to develop young players on its lower-tier teams and then funnel them to Manchester City, its highest-performing team, once they matured. CFG instructed the teams to follow a similar style of play and, in some cases, changed teams’ jerseys and names to conform to CFG’s brand. Purchasing Bahia presented the opportunity to gain a foothold in Brazilian soccer, an under-monetized market poised for rapid growth. Yet Bahia was a mid-tier team with no star players. It was also unclear whether Bahia’s fans and players would meld with CFG’s culture and expectations. At the conclusion of the case, CFG CEO Ferran Soriano discovers that the price for Bahia is significantly higher than reports had initially indicated. Is the club worth the price?