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City makes profits from player trading

Despite its success on the pitch — winning both the English Premier League title and Europe’s Champions League — Manchester City consistently loses money at the operating level. Last season, its loss widened by two-thirds to £35.6mn. Over a decade those losses have summed to £334mn, according to data from football analyst Kieran Maguire.

The club’s wage bill is one of the highest in the Premier League at £354mn. Its wage to revenue ratio of 59 per cent, though relatively low, has not shifted since 2019.

But City, like some other top Premier League clubs, makes tidy profits from trading in players. In the decade through last season, City earned nearly half a billion pounds in this way. This is good news for the owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a businessman and politician from the United Arab Emirates.

Crosstown rival Manchester United, the subject of endless takeover speculation, made £150mn from trading in players. These transactions have kept City’s pre-tax profits in the black every year bar one since 2014. The club, it must be added, faces 115 charges from the Premier League over financial fair play rules, raising questions on how sustainable returns are.

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire notes: 'Manchester City's revenue £8.4m, in 2022/23 £713m, an increase of 8,410% during a period when inflation has been 106%. Wages have increased from £1,800 a week to £196,500 a week, an increase of 10,563%.'

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