It's an unexpected rumor but it's going well at Leburton Stadium. The British giant could become the majority shareholder of AFC Tubize.
A new player is about to engage with AFC Tubize in the coming days to strengthen, from January, the ranks of a currently Red Division 1B team. We do not know much about the profile of this element, except that it evolves as a median and - which is not nothing - it would come from ... Manchester City.
A rumor that would hide, in fact, an interest of the giant of the English championship to become shareholder of ... Tubize. A news that is hardly believable but that we learned at good source this week.
Coincidentally or not, the big boss of the Sang et Or club, Chankoo Shim, arrived from South Korea last week. Another clue, he had gone, during the last month of October, the Etihad Stadium Citizens to attend (but not that?) In the game against Stoke City. As a reminder, the South Korean had bought the tubizien circle in the summer of 2014.
Here, from what we have learned - and this obviously requires confirmation - Manchester City would own 60% of the AFC. Chankoo Shim would retain 30% of the shares, which would allow him to continue to bring Asian players in Walloon Brabant as he has done since his arrival, while the remaining 10% would be in the hands of Raymond Langendries.
Manchester City is owned by a wealthy Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi. He also owns several clubs around the world, including, for example, New York City in MLS, in the United States, Melbourne City (Australia) or FC Girona (Spanish D1).
What advantage would Manchester City have to invest in Belgium and Tubize? That of placing promising young players but still too short to join the first team to allow them to wrap themselves in an adult championship. Just like King Power, owner of Leicester City (another English Premier League club), seizing power in Oud-Heverlee Leuven, or what Monaco did with the Circle Brugge, both opponents of the Tubiziens in Proximus League.
As long as it is confirmed, this news could bring with it, his lot of questions about the future of the current leaders of the club tubizien as well as his staff and his group. What about sports management? Players who would be or not kept? How many new heads could land?