Man City made a £20.5M profit on record income in '15-16, the "second consecutive financial year in which the club, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al- Nahyan, has made a profit," according to David Conn of the London GUARDIAN. Man City announced it earned £391.8M "from TV-rights income, sponsorship, ticket sales and all commercial activities last season, when Manuel Pellegrini’s team finished fourth in the Premier League." The total wages paid to players and staff were approximately £196M, 50% of income, "which is considered by accountants to be a financially healthy ratio for a football club." Man City’s total income was £40M higher than the £352M made in '14-15, itself a record year for the club, and the "second-highest turnover in the Premier League" after ManU. Total income from matches last season increased 21% to £52.5M, TV income was up 19% to £161.4M, and the club stated its commercial earnings, mostly sponsorship, "were slightly up," 3% to £177.9M (GUARDIAN, 10/18). In London, Andy Bounds reported Man City Chair Khaldoon Al Mubarak said that the club was "now sustainable eight years after its takeover" by Sheikh Mansour. It is "debt free" and the sheikh has invested more than £1.2B. Al Mubarak: "Manchester City has now reached a level of sporting and commercial maturity that allows one to feed the other" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 10/18).
'NEW PHASE': Also in London, Ian Herbert reported Al Mubarak revealed that he views the current season as the starting point for "a new phase in the evolution of Manchester City." He said that the development of the club "has never been anything other than a long-term project" and that "we have set ambitious goals and achieved many of them faster than expected in the last eight years, but we have never underestimated the scale of the undertaking." The investment in Man City’s parent company City Football Group by China Media Capital Holdings (CMC), which valued the Group at $3B, "certainly helped." The club can "also factor in the revenue" from reaching the semifinals of the Champions League (INDEPENDENT, 10/18).
WAGE BILL: In London, Martyn Ziegler reported Man City has "dropped far behind" its rival ManU in terms of overall wage bill. Man City's wage bill of £196M now puts the club "on a par with Arsenal and way below" ManU’s figure of £232M for '15-16 and Chelsea’s £215M for the previous season. The report said that the club is “committed to controlling wage costs” -- an important factor in the transition from three years ago when Man City was "given a stiff penalty" by UEFA for breaching financial fair play rules (LONDON TIMES, 10/18).
