Manchester City Names Soriano as Chief Executive Officer

English Premier League champion Manchester City named former Barcelona official Ferran Soriano as its new chief executive officer.

Soriano, 45, held the same role, along with that of vice chairman, at Barcelona until 2008. He’ll begin work on Sept. 1, City said on its website.

City has been looking to recruit a new chief executive since Garry Cook resigned almost a year ago following controversy over an e-mail he sent to a player’s mother, appearing to ridicule her cancer.

“The process of finding a chief executive officer has been deliberate, far reaching and exhaustive,” Chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak said. “In Ferran we have our preferred candidate. His experience in football, and in the wider commercial world, make him exceptionally well to lead Manchester City through its continued evolution.”

Soriano most recently was chairman of Spanair SA, a Spanish airline that collapsed into bankruptcy in January. It was the first failed European airline since the last recession ended in 2009.

City, bankrolled by Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, won its first league title since 1968 in May.

Soriano grew Barcelona’s sales from 123 million euros ($152 million) to 308 million euros during the five years he worked there, City said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tariq Panja in London at tpanja@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at celser@bloomberg.net