Things keep getting ever more surreal over at Manchester City these days.

First they get taken over by a ‘family firm’ that is worth around $1trillion, then they break the UK transfer record with a £32.5m swoop for Robinho and now, according to reports, the city brand is set to go worldwide and appear on restaurants, credit cards and even cars.

Your faithful How-Do correspondents are, well, somewhat speechless.

A global brand?

The firm, controlled by the ‘trillion dollar’ royal Al Nayhan family, has acknowledged that it is looking to emulate the brand strategy of Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and extend the reach of the, as yet relatively untapped, City brand into new sectors and new international markets.

This will include making inroads into fashion, retail, food, communications and financial services.

In a document entitled ‘A New Model for Partnership in Football’ the group relays their ambition to be ‘the Virgin of Asia and the world’ – launching everything from Citycars (a mooted partnership with Tata of India), through to City Eating outlets and City Powered energy drinks.

Although the document is only an outline of the possibilities for the City brand, the almost inconceivable financial clout of the Abu Dhabi concern means the possibilities are exactly that, possibilities - even if they are seen to be somewhat fanciful at present.

The club’s executive chairman Garry Cook, a former Nike executive, is understood to have been instrumental in drawing up the brand strategy.

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