City Football Group invests in Uruguay's Club Atletico Torque

City Football Group is adding two sheets to its portfolio.

On Wednesday, Manchester City announced CFG is investing in Club Atletico Torque, a club based in Montevideo, Uruguay, that competes in the country's second division and averages just 250 supporters per game. Confirmation of the acquisition was accompanied by news of a collaboration agreement signed with Atletico Venezuela, a club that plays in Venezuela's Primera Division.

"We are pleased to take this next step in our football development operations," Ferran Sariano, CFG's chief executive, said. "The investment in CA Torque enables our organisation to build on existing connectivity in Uruguay and helps to expand the options for identifying and developing local and South American talent.

"This move also provides us with an administrative hub for our pre-existing scouting operations in the region and provides a footprint for City Football Group in South America.

"I am also delighted to start a working partnership with Atletico Venezuela to the benefit of both clubs. The collaboration agreement allows us to share knowledge, insights, and hard data, all of which enables us to further complement and increase our scouting and recruitment operations on the continent."

Torque, which was founded in 2007 and turned professional in 2012, boasts five developmental squads.

According to the Guardian's Ed Aarons, it is understood CFG's partnership with Torque will not include large-scale investment in players, as is the case at New York City FC and Melbourne City. It will reportedly be a similar arrangement to City's link with NAC Breda.

Per Bloomberg's Tariq Panja, City's investment in Torque could save millions in transfer fees for the Citizens and help the English club get around restrictions on signing non-European athletes and juniors.

The partnership marks the third investment from the United Kingdom in a club from Uruguay. In 2009, Malcolm Caine, a racehorse owner, invested in Deportivo Maldonado, which trades elite players from South America who never actually appear in a single match for the Uruguayan club. The business model essentially eases the tax burden for investors who own transfer rights, inevitably producing rumours of third-party ownership, which is outlawed by FIFA. A group of British investors also purchased El Tanque Sisley.