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According to today’s Manchester Evening News, Manchester City have held talks with the most powerful man in US football about buying a franchise in Major League Soccer.
The Blues have America in their sights as part of their plans to expand the club’s profile on a global level and are mulling over a tour across the Atlantic in July.
They will also target the US as the second stage of their scheme to roll out the successful City academy across the planet, with the first phase already underway in Abu Dhabi.
Chief executive Garry Cook has held preliminary talks with MLS commissioner Don Garber, who was attending this week’s Soccerex convention in Manchester.
Garber is keen to get European clubs involved in the MLS, and recently held talks with Barcelona and Real Madrid about investing in one of their franchises as they seek to expand their league.
City, who have scrapped the idea of buying a franchise in Indian Premier League cricket, would have to stump up around £25m, and new teams are being formed in Philadelphia this year, and in Vancouver and Portland next year.
Cook has strong links with Portland – said to be one of the destinations for the summer tour – as he formerly worked as a marketing executive for Nike, based in the Oregon city. The Blues are also considering matches in Philadelphia and New York.
Garber said of the City talks: “Part of the relaunch of that team is for them to think strategically about their business and where international expansion fits into that, and where the US might fit into that.
“We’ve had very preliminary discussions about that.”
The MLS want links with Europe in order to improve the quality of players coming through their system, and that would dovetail neatly with City’s international academy plan, which is headed up by former Academy director Jim Cassell.
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sweet
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Man/Kan City
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New York CITY
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Wow, if City buy the Timbers I’ll have one MORE reason to hate them…
Up the Red Devils!
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Wow, I guess once a manufactured fan, always be one… no surprise to me that a sounders fans is also man u fan…. bahhhh goes the sheep
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Portland ‘City’ Timbers?
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They should buy DC United. The DC market is awesome. A lot of potential. I am sure someone with deep pockets as the Man City owner can transform the DC United franchise into a powerhouse.
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the money would be great and hopefully they buy in the new york area or florida. but dear god i pray they dont market under their name. i dont want a machester city new york or a manchester city washington. i want the club to have a identity not manufactured. we already have a soda comapany running new jersey and fans pop out of the factory in seattle.
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Just wait until Man City take a look at MLS draconian Academy rules. That will end the flirtation very quick.
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Real Salt Lake City
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Well Houston could still be up for grabs even if over 50% of fans are latino hahaha.
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hopefully with San Jose. We can make our blue a little lighter and hey look were a lil brother club. I wouldn’t mind some of that money being thrown into our stadium or something.
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San City
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ALthough I want this kind of involvement in MLS, I couldn’t take City being aligned with the Tumblers. That would be a cruel joke. Guess it’ll be a Blues kit bonfire at my house that night.
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City are my favorite team and I could very well see them with Vancouver. Vancouver is almost likely to wear a light blue shirt during the season.
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Won’t be the Whitecaps. They have a great ownership group already that has ties to Derby County. If anything, the Vancouver folks would invest in a FA team, not the other way around.
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They should call them The Aztecs
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I though Vancouver was connected to Tottenham.
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Jerseymob-
Who are you -who is anyone- to say who another fan should or shouldn’t support? More importantly, if I let YOU influence my team of choice, wouldn’t that ACTUALLY make me a sheep?
I’ve been a Sounders fan since before MLS, Man U fan since I’ve followed club football…and I don’t feel like I need your approval for either!
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San Jose already has a “strategic” partnership with Tottenham so Man City can look elsewhere. I am against everything City is (no tradition and trying to buy itself trophies with $$$ hungry mercenary players), but DC United could use a leg up to buy the politicians and pay off the lobbyist in DC for their new stadium which they greatly deserve. I would go as far to say they have a better tradition than Man City, so City can learn something from their investment. Their colors and name better not change though.
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Man City will never have a team here because like Barcelona they won’t develop players just for MLS to own them under their stupid “single entitiy” rules. That was one of the reasons that Barca told Garber and company to fuck off during the Miami debacle. Hell, that is the reason why Real Madrid also told MLS to fuck off when they were being courted in the mid 00’s. This is not going to happen.
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-Toronto United FC
-DC City FC
-New York Blue Bulls
-Kansas City Witches
-Manchester Rochester
S’all good with these names
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Keep dreaming Seattle. Oh yeah, BTW great game at Qwest yesterday and your front line looked great.
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