File picture shows a general view of The City of Manchester stadium, the home of Manchester City Football Club in Manchester, north-west England on September 10, 2011
City’s parent company, City Football Group (CFG), announced second tier Atletico will become part of their global network of clubs.
They already own Major League Soccer’s New York City, Melbourne City in Australia and Japan’s Yokohama F Marinos.
As well as Montevideo-based Atletico, CFG, who are led by City owner Sheikh Mansour, also revealed they have entered into a “collaboration agreement” with Atletico Venezuela of the Venezuelan Primera Division.
The two deals will give CFG a foothold in South America that will help it develop players, while the scouting presence available to the Premier League club in that continent will be doubled.
“We are pleased to take this next step in our football development operations,” CFG chief executive Ferran Soriano said on Wednesday evening.
“The investment in CA Torque enables our organisation to build on existing connectivity in Uruguay and helps to expand the options for identifying and developing local and South American talent.
“This move also provides us with an administrative hub for our pre-existing scouting operations in the region and provides a footprint for City Football Group in South America.
“I am also delighted to start a working partnership with Atletico Venezuela to the benefit of both clubs.
“The collaboration agreement allows us to share knowledge, insights and hard data, all of which enables us to further complement and increase our scouting and recruitment operations on the continent.”
CFG have also been linked with a possible move into the lucrative Chinese Super League market.
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