Manchester City announce new partnership affecting Football Manager 23 players

Manchester City have announced a new partnership with Sports Interactive this week, as per a club statement.

The Premier League champions have often been regarded as being at the forefront of business within football, and that has continued across the current calendar year.

While striking deals with clubs for the signing of players may be more exciting for football fans on the pitch, the work off the pitch should be commended.

In 2022 alone, Manchester City and the City Football Group have signed off in excess of five new partnerships.

Back in January, Aldar Properties PJSC - the 'leading real estate developer and manager in the United Arab Emirates' - become the Club’s Official Real Estate Partner, while a multi-year agreement with OKX to become the club’s new official cryptocurrency exchange partner was signed off just eight weeks later.

In regards to the latter, and while financial terms were not disclosed, Forbes reported that the deal was in the ‘multimillion-dollar range annually’.

Moving over to September, and Manchester City announced that LeoVegas Group would become the Club’s Official Betting Partner in Europe and Canada, while a deal with Unilumin - who provided the ‘Supersized LED’ two-tier digital display system at the Etihad Stadium - was renewed.

Further highlighting the importance of such deals financially, the deal surrounding Unilumin saw Manchester City's pitch side media space become the most commercially valuable in the Premier League.

Now, a new deal has been struck that could excite fans more than all.

Sports Interactive - described as being 'the world’s leading developer of sports management simulations - have now become an official partner of Manchester City.

An official statement reads:

"With Sports Interactive now an official partner of Manchester City, fans will be able to take them to glory as a fully licensed team in FM23, launching on Tuesday, November 8th across all platforms."

Football Manager is a series of football management simulation video games developed by Sports Interactive, and published by Sega.

The new partnership involving the Premier League champions will almost certainly be one to directly grip football supporters and especially fans of the club themselves.

Upon reporting of the news, fans have been quick to bring across their excitement on social media.