ENGLISH Premier League leaders Manchester City have swiped right on a unique deal with dating app Tinder, both organisations said on Thursday.

A day after a 3-0 loss to Liverpool in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Manchester City announced the signing of a multi-year partnership with Tinder.

Reports in the British media claim the deal is worth millions of pounds.

The commercial deal will see the dating app team up with the club’s men’s and women’s sides along with sister club New York City FC.

“Tinder is a huge global platform which, just like football, is bringing millions of people together every day all around the world,” City Football Group’s Chief Commercial Officer Tom Glick said in a statement on the club’s website.

“Football is all about a community of fans, sharing moments, emotions and passion for the sport they love.

“Together with Tinder, we have a great opportunity to explore how we can combine Tinder’s significant appeal and reach with our global audience… We believe this will be a perfect match for Tinder and for City.”

Tinder is a dating app owned by Match Group Inc.

It marked the beginning of the partnership by flying a blimp in City’s club colours — light blue and white — along with logos of both organisations in Manchester on Thursday.

The app has also changed its social media icons to match the club’s colours to show support ahead of City’s potential league title-clinching derby against bitter rivals Manchester United on Saturday.

“Football is a sport where anything can happen at any moment,” Tinder’s VP Partnerships David Wyler said.

“We wanted to be true to the game and do something unexpected by surprising the fans and our users with news of our partnership in a fun and creative way.”

– Apr. 5, 2018 @ 11:53 GMT /

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