Manchester City acquire majority share in Australian side Melbourne Heart 
Manchester City have announced they are to acquire an 80% share in Australian A-League side Melbourne Heart FC. A consortium led by the English club also includes the ownership group of the
NRL side Melbourne Storm as minority shareholders with a 20% stake. The news follows months of discussions and is believed to have been signed off by Football Federation Australia on Wednesday night.
Heart are currently bottom of the A-League after 15 games (the league has 10 teams) with eight points having won their first game of the campaign last Friday when it beat Newcastle.
Former Liverpool winger Harry Kewell currently plays for the Melbourne side.
The investment Melbourne Heart FC
follows its establishment of New York City FC in May 2013, who will enter Major League Soccer in the United States in the 2015 season.
Ferran Soriano, CEO of Manchester City, said: "We are excited about the opportunity to make Melbourne Heart one of the most successful football clubs in Australia and throughout the region.
"We believe the strong sports culture of Melbourne combined with the football and commercial expertise within our consortium
will make for a powerful combination both on and off the pitch."
Regarding its plans for the club, he added: "The first thing we must do is take the time to listen and learn and then to develop our strategy for strengthening the club over time."
Out of respect for the coaching staff and the players in the middle of the A-League season, the new ownership group will not be making any major announcements until mid-2014.
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9128923/manchester-city-acquire-majority-share-in-australian-side-melbourne-heart [ 此帖被羅力亞在2014-01-23 14:00重新編輯 ]
