Man City’s big talk about their financial strength doesn’t mean much when they’re facing 115 charges. With profits soaring and a triple win in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League, you’d think Manchester City would be the darlings of English football. Instead, they’re tangled up in a legal mess that’s set to shape the game for years to come.
The news that the club’s profits doubled in the same season they signed Erling Haaland and won everything doesn’t change the seriousness of the situation. The 115 charges for allegedly breaking financial fair play rules and a range of other offences are taking up a lot of time and money for both sides. The Premier League is in for a tough battle, and City’s 19 fellow clubs are left waiting on the sidelines with no updates on the case’s progress.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak hailed 2022-23 as the club’s greatest football and commercial year. Fourteen years after Sheikh Mansour bought a mid-table Premier League team in financial trouble, the transformation is complete. But at what cost? We’re still in the dark about how much of the Abu Dhabi royal’s fortune it took to turn City into a profit-making machine. Like other clubs in similar positions, such as Chelsea in the 2000s and Paris Saint-Germain, it’s likely a hefty sum.
City has raked in the highest revenue ever for an English club, reaching £712.8 million, including a whopping £341.4 million in commercial income. It’s this second figure that’s drawing the most attention and scrutiny. The Premier League’s charge list from February alleges that for nine seasons between 2009-2010 and 2017-2018, City signed inflated sponsorship deals with related parties. There’s no suggestion that the club has broken any rules for the current season.
To put it into perspective, Real Madrid, who came second to City in this year’s Deloitte Money League, earned around £277 million in commercial revenue. Manchester United and Liverpool earned £268 million and £240 million, respectively. In comparison, City’s commercial performance is staggering. It’s also helped offset the impact of English football’s largest-ever wage bill, which has surpassed £400 million.
Khaldoon claims that these results and their associated metrics show that the club has never been stronger, and to some extent, few could argue. Resources have been poured into winning football matches at all levels, including the club’s dominant Under-21s and Under-18s teams. Alongside the Etihad, a new entertainment venue, the largest indoor arena in Britain, is in the works. Globally, the 13-strong City Football Group, with its Manchester entity as the flagship, is the most powerful multi-club ownership group.
Under normal circumstances, this would be the perfect time for any football club. But City knows that in 2024, the conclusion of its epic legal battle with the Premier League awaits. What will matter most is where the club stands in 12 months’ time, when the results for 2023-24 are published. It will mark the end of a defining year for City and the Premier League.
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