Silver Lake increases its stake in City Football Group

Matthew Badrov20/09/2022 5:55 am19/09/2022

Image provided by Manchester City

Private equity firm Silver Lake has increased its stake in City Football Group (CFG) to 14.5%, according to the Financial Times (FT).

The US-based company will become the second largest shareholder of the ownership group which owns the likes of Manchester City, Melbourne City, Lommel SK, Troyes AC and Palermo among others.

The Silicon Valley-based company reportedly acquired a 4.1 per cent share in CFG from China Media Capital (CMC), which retains an 8.2 per cent share. Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) remains the largest shareholder with just over 75 per cent.

Silver Lake initially invested in CFG back in 2019, taking just over 10% in a $748 million deal which valued the group at $7.1 billion.

Since its initial CFG outlay, Silver Lake has made several notable sports investments, including New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and Australian soccer’s A-Leagues, as well as buying Endeavor’s Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH).

English champions Manchester City have also made several commercial strides since Silver Lake’s first involvement with the club reporting a record revenue of $970.4 million for the 2020/21 season.

City were also ranked as the highest earning club in the world for the first time in the latest Deloitte Football Money League.

Silver Lake bought into City Football Group after Hollywood impresario Ari Emanuel – founder of Endeavor – introduced managing partner Egon Durban to CFG’s Khaldoon al-Mubarak.

The private equity firm has formed deep ties with Abu Dhabi. Mubarak is chief executive of Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi sovereign investment fund that took a stake in Silver Lake in 2020. The following year, Silver Lake paid approximately $1.1 billion AUD for a stake in G42, an artificial intelligence and cloud computing group with links to Abu Dhabi’s ruling family.

China Media Capital still owns 8.2 per cent of CFG, having originally paid $726 million to amass a 13% stake. That investment, which valued CFG at $4.4 billion, came after China’s president Xi Jinping visited Manchester City’s football academy in 2015.

Under CFG ownership, Manchester City has won the English Premier League five times and this year overtook rivals to top Deloitte’s annual ranking of the highest revenue-generating football clubs in the world.

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

Patrick Irving16/04/2026 8:55 am16/04/2026

Image credit: Melbourne Victory

The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

Patrick Irving15/04/2026 6:05 am14/04/2026

Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.