MLS is reportedly looking to announce its 30th club in San Diego starting in 2025

California is on the verge of getting a fourth major league soccer team.

According to the London Times, MLS is expected to announce plans for a 30th team in San Diego on Thursday. Mohamed Mansour, a British-Egyptian billionaire and Conservative Party treasurer, is said to be buying the franchise for $500 million.

The club is said to be owned by Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, an Native American tribe that has been based in the San Diego area for more than 12,000 years. The total investment in the organization could exceed $700 million.

The club will enter the league for the 2025 season. The move will bring Mansour closer to buying a football club in England. He currently owns a Danish Superliga team and has ‘definitely’ had an English team on his radar for the last few years. According to the report, the 75-year-old is worth around $3.6 billion.

San Diego already has two professional soccer clubs in the city. The San Diego Wave is one of the newest clubs to join the National Women’s Soccer League, and the San Diego Loyal compete in the USL. This franchise is coached by former USMNT star Landon Donovan.

MLS has grown significantly in recent years. Both Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC entered the league in 2020. Austin, Charlotte and St. Louis followed in the years that followed. St. Louis City SC was the 29th team in the league to start play this season. It was the ninth new team added to the league since 2019.

MLS commissioner Don Garber said earlier this year that the league would announce plans for a 30th team by “the end of the year.” San Diego was among the finalists along with Las Vegas. It’s unclear if the MLS will attempt to expand the 30-plus team – bringing it level with the NBA and MLB.