Manchester City announce record profits of £42m in ‘most successful financial year ever’

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak praised the club’s ‘most successful financial year’ after they announced record profits of £41.7million.

Last season, the Premier League champions raised revenues again to a record £613million in the first full spell with supporters back in stadiums and away from Covid restrictions.

City believes that player trade and the use of the City Football Group’s multi-club model contributed significantly to continued investment after the pandemic.

“Our motivation to firmly put the pandemic behind us has helped our talented people achieve the most successful financial year in the club’s history,” said Al Mubarak.

“The best players in world football make us their favorite destination; our player trading was executed with great skill and positive financial results, and our commercial partnerships continued to deepen and expand by geographic location and industry.”

City, who reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and the FA Cup, saw their wage bill – with 549 employees – fall slightly to £353.9 million.

However, they expect this to rise next year, given the big arrivals of Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillips and Manuel Akanji in recent months.

City’s commercial operation, which has recently been criticized for not carrying out proper due diligence on nominal deals with smaller companies, has continued to grow.

City’s website currently lists 46 global and regional partners, with commercial revenue rising to £309.5 million last season, thanks to the new sponsors and the return of concerts to the Etihad Stadium.

“Football does not stand still and other leading clubs continue to develop and develop,” Al Mubarak added. “We must therefore constantly challenge ourselves to improve on what we have achieved.

“This means further innovation in Manchester and beyond. Reinventing ourselves and how we move forward in Manchester and through City Football Group (CFG), the leading multi-club organization that Manchester City is at the heart of.”

City’s recent summer transfer activities – the capture of Haaland, significant sales of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus – have not been included in the latest round of financial results.

They have a potential £197 million left to pay existing team members and former clubs in extra transfer fees, sign-up payments and loyalty bonuses – much of which depends on success on the pitch. That was £30 million lower than last year, but is expected to rise in the next term.

“Profits (in 2021-2022) were also boosted by notable transfer activity,” chief executive Ferran Soriano said.

The £67.7m profit City took from player registration transfers took the total over the past five years above £250m from this increasingly material source of income.

This will grow even further in 2022-23, fueled by an unprecedented summer of post-season transfer activity that generated the highest gross player income ever in Premier League history, both in a summer window and over a calendar year.

This includes the transfer of eight academy graduates, highlighting the club’s growing success in nurturing footballers who are making careers not only with Manchester City but also in the top leagues in professional football in general. ‘