How Man City owners benefit from Man United's £71 million Bryan Mbeumo transfer: report

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Manchester City's sister club ESTAC Troyes will reportedly receive €9 million (£7.8m) from Brentford's sale of Bryan Mbeumo.

Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo has sealed a permanent move to Manchester United
Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo has sealed a permanent move to Manchester United (Image credit: Getty Images)

Man City's parent company City Football Group (CFG) stand to benefit from Manchester United's £71m Mbeumo move, according to local reports in France.

Mbeumo sealed a long-awaited £71m move to Old Trafford earlier this month, leaving Brentford after six years in West London. The Frenchman scored 20 Premier League goals last season, adding a further seven assists for the Bees, and was the subject of transfer interest from the likes of Man United, Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur.

The 25-year-old's former club Troyes, from whom Brentford signed him in 2019, sit within the CFG network, the holding company which also controls Man United's city rivals.

Manchester City's City Football Group receive windfall from Bryan Mbeumo sale

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, May 2025

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, May 2025 (Image credit: Alamy)

Per reports in France, Troyes are due €7.4 million courtesy of a sell-on clause.

Additionally, Troyes are supposedly owed a further €2 million in training compensation having developed Mbeumo at the club's academy from the age of 14.

Thomas Frank, manager of Tottenham Hotspur, looks on prior to the Premier League match between Brentford FC and Tottenham Hotspur at Gtech Community Stadium on August 13, 2023 in Brentford, England. (Photo by

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has joined Tottenham Hotspur this summer (Image credit: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

The Ligue 2 club finished mid-table in France's second tier last season after narrowly escaping back-to-back relegations a year prior.

Mbeumo's sale by Brentford could prove especially lucrative to Troyes given the current financial situation in French football. Several clubs have reported difficulties in recent years, including Ligue 1 stalwarts Olympique Lyonnais who this summer successfully appealed their demotion to the second tier due to financial irregularities.

Mbeumo's sale by Brentford could prove especially lucrative to Troyes given the current financial situation in French football. Several clubs have reported difficulties in recent years, including Ligue 1 stalwarts Olympique Lyonnais who this summer successfully appealed their demotion to the second tier due to financial irregularities.

A €9 million windfall is unlikely to make too great a splash at CFG given the organisation recently posted revenue of close to £1 billion, £700 million of which coming from Pep Guardiola's Man City.

Joe Donnohue
Joe Donnohue
Senior Digital Writer

Joe joined FourFourTwo as senior digital writer in July 2025 after a number of years covering Leeds United in the Championship and Premier League. Joe's 'Mastermind' specialist subject is 2000s-era Newcastle United having had a season ticket at St. James' Park for 10 years before relocating to Leeds and later London. Joe takes a keen interest in youth football, covering PL2, U21 Euros, as well as U20 and U17 World Cups in the past, in addition to hosting the industry-leading football recruitment-focused SCOUTED podcast. He is also one of the lucky few to have 'hit top bins' as a contestant on Soccer AM. It wasn't a shin-roller.

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