Man City players to visit China partner after major deal struck by club

Manchester City have added a trip to Shenzhen into their itinerary for their Asia trip with some senior players off to meet a sponsor

A number of Manchester City players are heading to China on Monday as part of the club’s partnership with Chinese company BYD. The Blues are not playing any matches in Asia’s biggest football market this summer but are giving extra attention to one of their most recent sponsors.

BYD became the official automotive partner of City in February 2026 and their logo features on the sleeve of the training kit of the men’s and women’s teams and inside the dugout at the Etihad, while a BYD car has led the team bus into the stadium for Premier League and domestic cup matches. As well as CEO Ferran Soriano, star players Erling Haaland, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rodri, Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden have all been used to promote the partnership.

The company, which produces electric vehicles as one of its major arms, was present in Hong Kong for the friendly with Inter on Saturday night given it has deals with the Italian team as well. There was a car in the corner of the Kai Tak Stadium and their branding was prominent inside the ground.

And with the company headquarters in Shenzhen just a short hop over the border from Hong Kong, City are sending some of their players over to film some content with their partners. A number of club officials are also expected to watch City Football Group side Shenzhen Peng City play on Sunday night, although no players will be present as they are only visiting BYD before heading back to Hong Kong.

The China pitstop in City’s itinerary highlights the commercial element of the summer tour and also underlines the importance given to their recent partnership with BYD. Former Liverpool and Chelsea executive Christian Purslow told the Football Boardroom podcast that City had struck a coup with the signing.

“[They are] one of the fastest growing companies in the world, the dominant EV maker in the world nudging ahead of Tesla,” he said. “Every single football club in the world would want BYD as their automotive car partner; they’ve gone to Manchester City.

“There are no suggestions of any links whatsoever from Manchester City’s ownership group to BYD – it is a huge public Chinese company.”