Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano praises Club World Cup: ‘It was very much needed'
Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has praised the concept of the newly-expanded Club World Cup, saying the change was 'very much needed'.
City won the tournament two years ago when it was contested by seven teams but this summer it has grown to 32. It has split opinion but the prize pot is worth $1 billion in total and Soriano believes it is a good thing for the sport.
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'We are very excited by it, I think it's something that was very much needed,' he told reporters in the United States. '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.'
Attendances have varied at different stadiums and cities but City's opening match in Philadelphia brought a crowd of 37,446.
'It's very important to be here because we are a global football club,' said Soriano.
'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 beat Moroccan side Wydad AC 2-0 in their opening game and play Al Ain and Juventus in their remaining group matches.
Having gone a season without a trophy for the first time since 2016-2017, City are aiming to go all the way in the U.S. 'The ambition for City in any competition is to win it. That's the status of the club,' Soriano added.
'Obviously, it's not possible to win always so we want to go as far as we can. But the ambition of Manchester City always is to win.'
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