MANCHESTER, May 11 — The owners of Premier League champions Manchester City have agreed to buy Belgian second division club Lommel SK, City Football Group (CFG) said in a statement today.
The Belgian team will become the ninth club in the CFG network, which also includes Major League Soccer (MLS) side New York City and Spanish second division club Girona among others.
CFG are set to wipe out Lommel’s debt worth £1.75 million (RM9.3 million) as part of the deal, the BBC reported.
“This investment is part of our long-term strategy to be present in key football countries, play beautiful football and develop talent,” said Ferran Soriano, chief executive of City Football Group.
“We were attracted to Lommel’s culture, training facilities and commitment to youth development and we look forward to learning from their approach and helping the Club to evolve in the months and years ahead.”
Last year, CFG, which is majority owned by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, expanded their network to India after agreeing to buy a 65 per cent stake in Indian Super League (ISL) side Mumbai City FC.
Lommel were sixth in the league when the season in Belgium was ended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. — Reuters
