Melbourne Heart's sale to a consortium led by Manchester City is a watershed moment

MANCHESTER City's takeover of Heart means Melbourne's second club can finally match the Victory. | City buys Heart

MELBOURNE Heart's $12m sale to a consortium led by Manchester City is a watershed moment for the A-League and may change the ownership landscape forever.

With City taking a controlling (80 per cent) share and Melbourne Storm owners Bart Campbell and Gerry Ryan a smaller percentage, the new owners have the resources to build Heart into an A-League powerhouse.

And most importantly there will finally be a buzz about Melbourne's second club, with the team finally able to match it with crosstown rivals Melbourne Victory.

While the much-maligned club has underperformed on the field and struggled to lift crowds, Heart has built a self-sustainable model and sold for a profit which is a rarity in the sporting landscape.

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The Herald Sun understands that the current owners, led by chairman Peter Sidwell, have made a $6m profit on Heart.

Players and officials were told of the 100 per cent takeover just before training at Epping Stadium this morning, less than a week after registering their first win of the season.

The new owners will invest millions more into the club, which is likely to include a squad overhaul for the 2014-15 season and include the acquisition of a big-name marquee.

Heart's 2013-14 average of 7937 is the lowest in the A-League.

Man City heavyweights have flown between Melbourne and Sydney to sign off on the deal this week.

City has been investing potential A-League partnerships in recent years as part of its plan to grow the club and the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini was motivated largely by his interest in the club's youth academy.

The group is also committed to keeping the club in Melbourne, with AAMI Park to remain as the club's home venue while they will also look to build the club a new training base having trained at no less than six venues this season.

Heart will share resources with the Storm, as the consortium involves Orica GreenEDGE cycling team and Jayco Caravans owner Gerry Ryan, who was involved in the purchase of the NRL club from News Limited, publishers of the Herald Sun.

Heart has 12 players out of contract with Andrea Migliorini and Dylan Macallister already released, while more players could leave in this January transfer window.

Harry Kewell, Orlando Engelaar, David Williams, Patrick Gerhardt, Jason Hoffman, Patrick Kisnorbo, Golgol Mebrahtu, Michael Mifsud, Sam Mitchinson, Tando Velaphi, David Vrankovic and Jeremy Walker are all out.

The $12m sale will eclipse - albeit narrowly - FFA's price for the imminent sale Western Sydney Wanderers to a group led by Primo Smallgoods boos Paul Lederer, indicating how much potential the group sees in Heart.

The Heart have received several offers in the past year and came close to selling to a Shanghai-based consortium, which offered around $9 million for a full takeover.

While the Heart has made just one finals appearance and averaged less than 10,000 crowds since entering the A-League in 2010, their fiscal prudency and youth focus is what attracted the group.

Heart is believed to have turned a small profit last season while the club is planning to launch its youth academy next year in conjunction with Cruyff Football, the model used at the world's most successful talent factory Barcelona.