Soccer:Premier League leaders Manchester City have announced record annual losses of €227 million, the highest ever recorded by an English club.
The colossal sum shows the depth of the investment made by Sheikh Mansour to transform City from a lower-mid table outfit in 2008 to their present status.
Whilst accepting the vast scale of the losses, City officials are adamant it marks a low point in their financial graph and from this point forward, they will be embarking on a significant upward trend.
“Our losses, which we predicted as part of our accelerated investment strategy, will not be repeated on this scale in the future,” said chief operating officer Graham Wallace.
Thankfully for City, the figures will not be taken into account as part of Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations as they fall outside the accounting window.
Indeed, as “additional exceptional charges” of €40 million have been added to a net loss of €187 million for the 2010-11 financial year, it could be argued the club have been quite astute in their planning.
It is also easy to see why the club are so strong in defending their present position as the mammoth sponsorship deal with Etihad Airlines, said to be worth €41 million-a-year over the next decade, plus the riches on offer in this season’s Champions League, will have begun to impact on City’s accounts in 12 months’ time.
The Blues are also pointing out that commercial revenue has risen 49.7 per cent to €56.5 million and TV rights, thanks to the club’s third place Premier League finish, winning the FA Cup to end a 35-year trophy drought and a run to the last 16 of the Europa League, have increased 27.4 per cent to €80 million. Overall turnover was €178.5 million, the highest in the club’s history.
