Manchester City challenging Europe’s financial elite
MANCHESTER City FC is closing-in on becoming one of the top five clubs in the world by revenues, according to key executive Tom Glick.
Tom Glick, the club’s chief commercial and operating officer, told guests at a reception at the Etihad Stadium co-hosted with theProfileClub and main sponsor Etihad, that as a result of the continuing investment in the club and recent commercial success, Manchester would be “the epicentre of football worldwide” over the next 10 years.
He said his team had been “quietly going about out business” in winning new commercial deals, declaring: “Next year Manchester will have two of the top five clubs in terms of worldwide revenues, we’re catching up with Bayern Munich (which according to the latest Deloitte Money League lies in fourth place behind Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United).
“We are very excited about the direction of the club,” he said.
The US-born executive, who was lured from Derby County in 2011, outlined the major investments the club is making, such as the proposals to expand the stadium from 48,000 to more than 60,000, the new £150m academy facility and training base next to the stadium and the recent upgrades to facilities in the ground.
The challenge he said was to continue to be “Manchester’s club and a community club”, as well as to woo new fans and commercial partners internationally.
“We have to be affordable for our fans, and that is why we have invested heavily in all aspects of the matchday experience, from the concourse to the new and unique Chairman’s Club, why we are working with new partners such as LG Electronics to upgrade the AV facilites in the ground and the big screens in the stadium.
“We are forunate to have amazing owners who challenge us all the time, and to have a visionary chief executive, who pushes us to think big.”
He said the club’s international status was ever-increasing: “Over the summer we played nine games in four continents and we were astounded by the number of fans and interest in our club.”
The launch of the new Major League Soccer club in partnership with the New York Yankees, to be called New York City, was another important strand in the international mix, Mr Glick said.
