Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling celebrates against AS Roma in a international pre-season. PHOTO/AFP
LONDON, October 15- Manchester City announced on Wednesday that they had made a profit for the first time since the Premier League club was acquired by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed in 2008.
City released their annual report for the 2014/15 season which highlighted a £10.7 million profit ($16.5 million, 14.4 million euros) made by the club over the past year.
“The 2014-15 season marked a historical step in Manchester City’s journey,” remarked club chief executive Ferran Soriano.
“The financial model and the strategic investment is proven to work. Manchester City is now a profitable, self-sustainable club competing at the highest level in world football,” he added.
The Premier league leaders reported record annual revenues of £352 million as well as a seventh straight year of year-on-year growth, while the club trimmed their wage bill to £193.5 million, down from £205 million the previous season.
Meanwhile, during that same period, city rivals Manchester United spent £203 million on wages with Arsenal and Chelsea paying out £192.2 million and £192.7 million respectively.
City missed out on any silverware last season as they finished second to Chelsea in the Premier League and club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak added: “The fact that we consider last season to be below par for Manchester City is a testament to how far we have come in the last seven years. This is a level of ambition that we should not shirk or shy away from.”
