The leading football franchise of the Premier League, Manchester City has beaten Manchester United in revenues for the financial year of 2020/21. This feat has been achieved for the very first time by the veteran franchise of the league.
According to the annual report presented by the team, the current table leaders of the league attained a 19% rise from its previous year in revenues by recording 782 million dollars for the 2020/21 season. This amount concluded in a profit of 3.3 million dollars over last year. The commercial income accounted for 373.2 million dollars and broadcast revenue came to be 408.6 million dollars. The club incurred a loss of 173 million dollars in the 2019/20 season and suffered a similar match day income loss this year from 57.3 million dollars to 9.61 hundred thousand dollars due to games being played behind closed doors. Manchester City attained profit this year when 98% of the matchday loss got covered by the Champions League income.
The football franchise having won the Premier League and Carabao Cup the previous season outperformed the revenue generation of their arch-rival, Manchester United. The Red Devils recorded an income of 678 million dollars for the year 2020/21 incurring significant impact from the coronavirus pandemic that lead to heavy matchday loss.
The CEO of Manchester City, Ferran Soriano, gave his insights on the team’s numerous feats previous season and said, “The season closed with the team having played 63 out of a maximum possible 64 matches, taking home the Premier League title, winning a record-equalling eight League Cups, reaching the final of the UEFA Champions League for the first time and breaking a raft of records in the process. This is not a club that gives up when the going gets tough.
He also commented on the commercial aspect of the sport and said, “From a business perspective, we were pleased to return to profitability, having successfully navigated the revenue challenges created by the pandemic. Covid-19 did not stop us, and we continued to grow, innovate and develop new ideas. We are hopeful that the pandemic-related challenges from the last two seasons will continue to subside, as we keep working tirelessly towards our objectives.
He further added, “And while we cannot dismiss the pain of missing out on the trophy in Porto at our first ever UEFA Champions League final, we must also pause to savour the fact that Manchester City has won three of the last four Premier League titles, and are now looking ahead to what we can do to achieve even greater success in the next stage of our journey.”