Six years ago, Mumbai City — a club with minuscule fanbase and playing in a modest ground in a over-crowded Western suburb — became the latest, and surprising, acquisition of the City Football Group (CFG). The owners of England and European giants Manchester City, CFG operate like a football MNC, with clubs in 13 countries across five continents. Mumbai, in November 2019, was their newest toy. Those were bullish times for Indian football. At the start of 2019, India came up with an impressive performance, by their standards, at the Asian Cup; snatched a point away from home against the mighty Qatar; the men’s national team was on the cusp of breaking into the world’s top 100; and the Indian Super League had controversially become the official top-division, reducing the I-League to a second-tier competition. The CFG entered the scene in this backdrop, promising to ‘deliver transformative benefits to Mumbai City and Indian football.’ So, as everything falls apart, there is no league as of now and the national team is in the doldrums, City are the first to run to the exit door. Mumbai City have informed the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that the CFG will sell its 65 percent shares to its parent company, Mumbai City Football India Pvt Ltd, which is co-owned by Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor and chartered accountant Bimal Parekh. Let there be no ambiguity — the ‘world’s leading private owner and operator of football clubs’, as the CFG describes itself, is leaving India because there is no football. ALSO READ | FC Goa players pause play during ACL 2 match against FC Istiklol to highlight ISL’s uncertainty It is a standard pattern for a domestic league to run for eight months in a mature football nation. In India, there has been no league action for more than eight months since the last ISL season ended on April 12. And unless some solution is arrived at during the meetings between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the ISL clubs on December 26 and 29, the wait could only get longer. The reason for this unprecedented development, on the surface, is straightforward — in December 2010, the AIFF signed an agreement with a Reliance subsidiary that allowed the latter to operate the league in return of a yearly fee of Rs 50 crore approximately. That contract expired on December 8, 2025. The two parties did not agree to the terms of extension, and when the AIFF went looking for a new partner, it found out that no one was willing to invest in Indian football — this was partly because of a Supreme Court order, which gave the investors limited say in operational matters. Short-term solution The AIFF and clubs are now scrambling for a short-term solution so that the league is at least held this season. But questions remain over the involvement of Reliance going forward. The City Football Group’s exit comes in this backdrop and it has raised concerns that some other investors in the ISL might follow the suit if there is no long-term plan.Story continues below this ad The CFG’s exit also sends a damaging view on Indian football to any potential international investors, which spells further trouble for the domestic game. Mumbai City was a part of an elite City group portfolio, which has teams in Spain (Girona), Belgium (Lommel), the USA (New York City), Australia (Melbourne City), Japan (Yokohama), China (Shenzhen), Uruguay (Montevideo) and Brazil (Bahia), among others. The impact of City’s involvement in Mumbai was visible in how the team played and also the way it was managed during these six years. From the appointment of the manager to the signing of players before the season and every pass they made to each goal they scored during it, a team of specialists at the CFG played a key role behind the scenes as Mumbai City transformed from being a mid-table team in the ISL to becoming champions twice, in 2020-21 and 2023-24, and winning the league shield once in 2022-23.Story continues below this ad Those at the club would describe how Brian Marwood, who ran the global football operations department, spoke routinely with Mumbai City’s backroom staff. His mandate is to make sure all these teams follow the playing style professed by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City: controlling the ball possession and pressing the opponents when it is lost. Hiring coaches and recruiting players was done on the basis of this philosophy, which meant Mumbai got a coach of Sergio Lobera’s calibre. The Spaniard had spent eight years at Barcelona, during which he coached at different levels and went as far as being the club’s assistant manager in 2012. And while Guardiola was still earning his coaching credentials, he was an intern under Lobera. The CFG’s expertise made Mumbai City an ISL giant. They — and Indian football as a whole — needed the CFG more than the other way round. The Group’s untimely exit further exasperates the dire situation the domestic game finds itself in.
Manchester City owners exit Mumbai City: Indian football’s sorry saga claims first victim, will more follow?
