Manchester City training ground set for Brazilian club takeover in January

The City Football Academy – training hub for Manchester City – is set to become the temporary base for Brazilian City Football Group side Bahia, according to reports.

The Premier League champions are gearing up for their winter break in the ongoing domestic season following a hectic start to the campaign that has also seen them claim two trophies to accompany their Treble achieved at the back end of last season.

City returned from their FIFA Club World Cup exploits and success in Saudi Arabia with a win over Everton at Goodison Park and Sheffield United at the Etihad Stadium, leaving them with two remaining fixtures across competitions before the winter break.

Pep Guardiola has confirmed this week that Manchester City have a current intention to leave their Manchester base for Abu Dhabi for warm weather training, as seen in previous campaigns including last season.

As such, an opportunity has presented itself for some of the City Football Group clubs to travel to the north-west of England for activity at the City Football Academy, with reports in Brazil providing the latest on that possibility.

According to the information of Correio, Bahia will hold a pre-season training camp at Manchester City’s training facility, travelling to England on January 9 while Pep Guardiola and his players embark on their final contest before their winter training camp.

The Treble winners of 2022/23 are expected to travel to Abu Dhabi during the January winter break for Premier League clubs following their clash with Newcastle United, as Pep Guardiola looks to set his players up for the crunch period of the ongoing campaign.

Manchester City take on Huddersfield Town in their penultimate clash before the winter break in what will be the first match of Pep Guardiola’s side’s defence of their FA Cup crown, having beaten Manchester United in last season’s final.

A fourth round tie in the competition may be the first contest after a jaunt in Abu Dhabi should City beat their Championship opponents this weekend, while Burnley at the Etihad Stadium will mark the final game of the month.