Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano insists the club will not forget their roots as they continue to expand their global footprint.
City, now part of an international network of 12 clubs, are hoping to further broaden their reach with a strong run at the ongoing Club World Cup in the United States.
Yet while City have been transformed radically since being taken over by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, Soriano maintains their ambitions will not come at the cost of tradition.
Soriano told DAZN: “We have our roots and we are proud of them.
“But you can be local and relevant and faithful to the history of the club, and the fans that support you, but you can also be global and show what we do – which we believe is beautiful football – to the world.
“It’s a combination that works very well and we are proud.”
City began their challenge in the US with a 2-0 win over Moroccan side Wydad AC in front of a crowd of 37,446 in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
The tournament has faced plenty of criticism for a variety of reasons, including its positioning in the calendar and consequent player welfare concerns, ticket prices, poor attendances, kick-off times and venue choices.
Yet Soriano has no doubt of the merits of the revamped competition, which has been expanded from the seven-team event won by City in 2023 to a month-long affair featuring 32 clubs.
The Spaniard said: “We are very excited by it. I think it’s something that was very much needed. Soccer is a global sport and we have to make it global.
“You have to have teams like Manchester City playing teams from Morocco, Korea or wherever. That’s part of the globalisation of the number one sport in the world.
“I think it’s a great initiative and we are very happy to be here.”
City have set their sights on victory having refreshed the squad following an underwhelming 2024-25 season.
They signed four new players last week in Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Marcus Bettinelli, having also brought in Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in January.
Soriano said: “The ambition for City in any competition is to win it. That’s the status of the club.
“Obviously it’s not possible to win always, so we want to go as far as we can.
“The squad needs to be renewed. It’s something that happens naturally.
“We are very happy, I’m happy, with the work that we did.
“Last summer we only bought one new player but this year between the winter and the summer it will be eight new ones.
“It’s part of the annual cycle, the renewal of the squad. We accelerated some of it and now we are very happy with the squad we have.”
