Billionaire Marcelo Claure Buys 10% Stake in Owner of New York City FC

Billionaire Marcelo Claure bought a 10% stake in the holding company of New York City FC, as the Major League Soccer team plots an expansion fueled by a planned new stadium in Queens.

City Football Group, which also owns English powerhouse Manchester City, will hold 80% of the parent company while Yankee Global Enterprises, owner of the New York Yankees, will have 10%, according to a statement Tuesday. The deal values the holding company, known as City Football Group US Holdco LLC, at around $1.5 billion, Sportico reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

“I am thrilled to join New York City FC at such an exciting time for soccer in the US,” Claure said in the statement. “With the Club World Cup in 2025 and the World Cup in 2026 on the horizon, I believe MLS has unmatched potential.”

Claure’s purchase adds to an investment empire spanning artificial intelligence, renewable energy and Chinese fast-fashion company Shein. A Bolivian-American entrepreneur who helped pull off the merger of Sprint and T-Mobile, Claure is also president of Bolivia’s largest professional soccer team and co-owns Spanish soccer club Girona FC, a sister team of New York City FC.

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The New York club’s holding company also owns the future stadium, a 25,000-seat venue in Willets Point that’s expected to be completed for the 2027 season. The privately financed facility will be the city’s first professional soccer stadium.

Claure, 53, co-founded Inter Miami CF, another MLS team, before he and Masayoshi Son, chief executive officer of Softbank Group Corp., sold their stakes in 2021 to Jorge and Jose Mas and David Beckham. Argentine superstar Lionel Messi began playing for the team in 2023.

New York City FC’s majority owner, City Football Group, is controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.