Manchester City announce record revenues of £535million as they are set to achieve parity with neighbours United thanks to huge Puma kit deal
- Manchester City are set to match Manchester United’s financial performance
- United have led the way for decades but City have benefited from Puma kit deal
- City announced record revenues of £535million on Tuesday afternoon
Manchester City have announced record revenues of £535m.
The Premier League champions released their financial figures for 2018-19 on Tuesday afternoon, which they say highlight the eleventh year of growth under Sheikh Mansour and feature a £10.1m profit.
As revealed by Sportsmail on Tuesday morning, club officials are expecting a further rise to around £560m for 2019-20, thanks in no small part to a new £650m 10-year kit deal with Puma.
Manchester City are poised to match the financial performance of rivals Manchester United
That will put them on course for parity with neighbours United, who are projecting revenues of between £560m and £580m for the same period. Last year, City broke the £500m barrier for the first time.
The club, which this year entered its second decade under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi United Group, also reported a profit of £10.1m.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak declared the results ‘represent not just a season, but a decade of hard work’ and added: ‘The organisation is now at a level of maturity that enables us to plan on multi-year cycles both in terms of our management of squads and more widely across the business.
‘This strategic planning has allowed us to create an environment in which continued on-pitch success is both possible and likely, and financial sustainability is a reality.’
Al Mubarak also vowed that City would ‘continuously improve and innovate, be that on the pitch, commercially, in infrastructure development or in our service to fans and our community’.
City are currently subject to a UEFA investigation into claims they breached Financial Fair Play rules. A decision is expected next month.
United posted record revenues of £627m for 2018-19 but they are anticipating a drop of up to £70m for 2019-20 thanks to a lack of Champions League football.
Parity off the field is something that would have been unthinkable before City were taken over by Sheik Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008.
However, their rise — coupled with United expecting a big drop in income because of their lack of Champions League football — is set to make it a stunning reality.
United raked in a record £627.1m for 2018-19. However, after finishing sixth in the Premier League and missing out on Europe’s elite competition, they believe revenues for 2019-20 will fall to between £560m and £580m.
City have benefited from a kit deal with Puma and are set to post similar figures to United
In 2007-08, City’s turnover was just £104m. The noisy neighbours’ figures have shown a big rise since the takeover, although critics have raised questions over the legitimacy of what are viewed by some as inflated sponsorship deals with groups based in the UAE.
For 2017-18, City broke the £500m revenue barrier for the first time. This year’s figures are due out imminently and are expected to be north of £500m again, but they are predicting £560m for 2019-20 after penning a 10-year, £650m deal with German giants Puma.
Should City hit that amount, it will be fascinating to see where in the £560m to £580m bracket United finish.
Announcing United’s first-quarter figures, executive vice chairman Ed Woodward admitted their start to the Premier League season — they are already 18 points behind leaders Liverpool — had been ‘mixed’.
United announced on Monday that their annual revenue for 2019-20 could drop to £560m
He added: ‘Our ultimate goal is to win trophies, playing fast, fluid, attacking football with a team that fuses graduates from our academy along with world-class acquisitions.
‘We know this will not be achieved overnight. However we have made investments across the club that we believe have set us on the right path.’
United’s latest figures also reveal that wages are down by £6.8m (8.8 per cent) year on year — thanks to the club not having to pay Champions League bonuses — while debt has shot up by up by £137.3m to £384.5m, which is largely down to buying players.
The debt that exists from the Glazer family’s leveraged takeover remains at the same level.
Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward admitted United’s start to the season has been ‘mixed’
