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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Jon Robinson

'China's Rupert Murdoch' steps down as director of Man City parent company City Football Group

A businessman known as 'China's Rupert Murdoch', who is a major shareholder in Manchester City's owners, has stepped down as a director of City Football Group.

Li Ruigang no longer holds the role at CFG, according to a newly filed document with Companies House.

CMC Holdings, of which he is chairman, first invested in City Football Group in a $400m deal with CITIC Capital for a stake of just over 13%.

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At the time, the deal valued the group at $3bn and saw Li Ruigang take a seat on the board. Speaking when the investment was announced, he said: "Football is now at a fascinating and critical stage of development in China.

"We see unprecedented growth opportunities in both its development as an industry, being China's most watched sport, and its inspirational role bringing people of all ages together with a shared passion.

"CMC has long been dedicated to creating opportunities that facilitate positive developments in Chinese football from different aspects within the ecosystem.

"With its unique business model and distinct successes, City Football Group, whom we have come to know well, represents a differentiated systematic approach to building a global platform for football know-how, player development, academy programmes and commercial partnerships that will benefit China's football industry on multiple levels.

"We and our consortium partner CITIC Capital also see this investment as a prime opportunity for furthering the contribution of China to the global football family."

City Football Group is majority owned by Newton Investment and Development LLC while private equity firm Silver Lake owns 14.54% with CMC holding an 8.24% stake.

Newton Investment and Development LLC is registered in Abu Dhabi and is wholly owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Members of the City Football Group board include chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Martin Edelman, Simon Pearce, John MacBeath, Alberto Galassi, Abdulla Khouri and Egon Durban.

City Football Group's clubs also include New York City, Melbourne City, Yokohama F. Marinos, Montevideo City Torque, Girona FC, Sichuan Jiuniu, Mumbai City FC, Lommel SK, Esperance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne and partner club Club Bolivar.

It is also a joint venture partner in the £365m Co-op Live arena that's being constructed near Manchester City's stadium.

In 2016, the FT said that Li Ruigang is "universally described as the most connected individual in Chinese media".

His China Media Capital fund has held large stakes in Imax China and Oriental DreamWorks, a television station in Hong Kong and joint ventures with Warner Bros and other major studios.

Manchester Evening News has approached City Football Group for comment.

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