Manchester City are ready to build a presence in the USA.

The Telegraph says City's Abu Dhabi-based owners are understood to be considering extending their influence in football across the Atlantic with a bid for a New York MLS franchise.

City's proprietors are among a number of investors considering bidding for the franchise, which will extend the league membership to 20.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan's purchase of Manchester City may have begun as a whim, but its potential as a marketing and diplomatic tool quickly became clear to the emirate's ruling family.

The success of the project is understood to have led to discussion of building City 'franchises' in other leagues, with the US among the most lucrative and high-profile developing markets in world football.