No more playing catch up for Manchester City as they draw level financially with rivals United thanks to £650m 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
- United announced that their annual revenue for 2019-20 could drop to £560m
Manchester City are poised to match Manchester United’s financial performance for the first time in decades.
United, shorn of Champions League football, announced on Monday that their annual revenue for 2019-20 could drop to £560m, a fall of almost £70m.
And it can be disclosed that their rivals — the back-to-back Premier League champions — are looking at a similar figure thanks largely to a new kit deal with Puma.
Manchester City are poised to match the financial performance of rivals Manchester United
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’
