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The future of the Western Sydney Wanderers has taken a dramatic turn with reports that English giants Manchester City are interested in buying a stake of the A-League’s newest and franchise – or perhaps the entire team – for the sum of $15 million.
This is just days after an audacious bid by the Penrith Panthers to form some kind of Western Sydney ‘Superclub’ were knocked back, so is this bid by Manchester City any different?
Well, simply put, yes. And in so many ways.
For starters, the money would be coming from a football background. For the longest time there have been members in both the football and rugby league camps who steadfastly oppose the other.
I am not one of those people, nor do I assume the powerbrokers from Penrith were. But I am certain a sizeable chunk of Wanderers fans would have had issue with the roots of where this new money was coming from.
It’s a small point yes, but not pissing off your fans should be considered in any business decision.
City recently collaborated with the New York Yankees to form the newest MLS entity, New York City FC.
It’s clear that Sheikh Mansour, Khaldoon Al Mubarak and the other high-level staff members in Manchester clearly see the club’s future in a global brand, stretching well beyond simply having fans in every corner of the globe.
The Australian market is one that is steadily growing and one that would give the club a strong foothold in Asia. Not to mention the many impressionable young fans who have yet to choose an English team to support.
Wanderers chaiman Lyall Gorman told SBS earlier this month, “If someone came and put $20 million on the table today, and in the view of the FFA it wasn’t the right mix, and someone put 15 on the table, or 10, who were seen to be the right mix, then dollars won’t be the only criteria in transitioning the ownership of the club,”
And although it is still just a thought and stretch very little beyond rumours and whispers, this in my mind would be a landmark deal for Australian football.
International ownerships have worked out favourably for the A-League in the past, and the pulling power that Manchester City would have would not only strengthen Wanderers, but the league as a whole.
Although, you’d have to imagine that the RBB would be slightly miffed at being bought out by a team that wears sky blue.
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