Manchester City and New York Yankees to own MLS franchise

File Photo: Manchester city owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan

English Premier League side Manchester City have joined hands with the Major League Baseball giants New York Yankees to own a new Major League Soccer team, which will be called New York City Football Club.

The team will be the 20th MLS franchise and expects to begin competing by 2015, assuming it finds a stadium to play in by then.

The announcement earlier today ended speculation that the Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan was interested in spending  $100m to buy the expansion franchise.

Manchester City will be the majority owner of the new club, while the Yankees will own about a quarter of the team and City will play an exhibition match against Chelsea on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

“New York is a legendary sports town, as well as a thriving global city with a rapidly expanding soccer fan base,” said Ferran Soriano, Chief Executive of Manchester City Football Club. “We are thrilled to contribute to the energy and growth of New York City soccer,” he added.

New York City Football Club could possibly play its inaugural season at Yankee Stadium if they can’t find another stadium to play in or if the one Manchester City want to build in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park isn’t ready.