Manchester City and the New York Yankees have formed a new Major League Soccer team to play in New York City from 2015, the organisations said yesterday.

Manchester City, owned by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi, will be the majority partner in New York City Football Club with the Yankees, the biggest name in baseball, an “active member of the ownership group”.

“This is another big day for soccer in America,” MLS commissioner Don Garber told Reuters.

The ‘franchise fee’ for the new club is around $100 million. The new club will face a local rival in New York Red Bulls who play in New Jersey, and are owned by Austrian energy drink firm Red Bull.

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