The City Football Group, owner of the English Manchester City, among other clubs, presented an offer of 1,000 million reais (200 million dollars) to take control of Atlético Mineiro, the Brazilian press reported Monday.
The board of directors of the Belo Horizonte club, last champion of the League and the Brazilian Cup, rejected this first proposal with which the City Group intends to expand its business in South America, according to the “ge” sports portal.
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City offered those 200 million dollars for 51% of the shares, in case the Minas Gerais state entity decides to transform into a public limited company, a model that other historic Brazilian clubs such as Cruzeiro and Botafogo have already adopted.
Cruzeiro is in the hands of former Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazário, who also owns Spain’s Real Valladolid, while Botafogo was sold to American businessman John Textor.
According to “ge”, Mineiro representatives met two weeks ago with the executive director of the City Group, Spaniard Ferran Soriano, to discuss the matter.
However, the initial offer has not pleased the leaders of the powerful Brazilian club, who estimate that it is worth at least 2,000 million reais (about 400 million dollars), according to the aforementioned media.
Atlético Mineiro has one of the most powerful squads in South American football this Monday, with figures such as winger Guilherme Arana, Argentine midfielders Nacho Fernández and Matías Zaracho, Venezuelan winger Jefferson Savarino or incombustible striker Hulk.
According to the specialized portal Transfermarkt, only the value of the squad amounts to about 115 million dollars.
However, the mining club faces a huge debt that, in June of last year, was 1,300 million reais (about 260 million dollars).
The City Football Group controls, in addition to the English City, other clubs such as New York City, Melbourne City, Montevideo City Torque, Yokohama Marinos or Girona.
