Manchester City posts record £392m turnover
MANCHESTER City have announced record club profits of £20.5m on revenues of £391.8m for the 2015-16 season.
Turnover was up 11% on the previous year, while profits increased a phenomenal 94% in a year which saw the club expand the capacity of Etihad Stadium 47,405 to 55,000, while a $400m investment from China Media Capital Holdings valued the club at $3bn.
The figures show the club have also brought their wage to revenue ratio down to 50% in the period. Investment in players included the £54m purchase of Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne – a deal that broke the club’s transfer record.
Last year, City recorded their first profit since the club’s 2008 takeover by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, when accounts showed they were £11m in the black.
Back in 2011, following the initial spending spree which followed the takeover, City posted a record loss for English football of £197m with a turnover which was less than the £172m they were paying on wages.
Unlike rivals Manchester United, who still owe £261m following the Glazer family takeover in 2005, City are debt free.
The results are seen as vindication of the strategy set out by the club’s Abu Dhabi owners.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: “Manchester City has now reached a level of sporting and commercial maturity that allows one to feed the other.”
He added: “I believe the 2016-17 season represents the beginning of a critical new phase in the evolution of Manchester City.
“We know that we have the playing, coaching and off-field capabilities at our disposal to achieve great things in English and European football in the years ahead.”
