Manchester City made a net loss of £126million for the coronavirus-hit 2019-20 season, the club’s annual report has revealed.
Delayed income from fixtures and players sales – the proceeds of Leroy Sane’s switch to Bayern Munich are not included in the most recent set of accounts – and season card refunds resulted in an 11 per cent reduction in revenue.
However, City expect an immediate return to profit for the current campaign and are forecasting a loss of less than £60milion a year over the two terms.
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In his report, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak described the business as “fundamentally strong, with committed shareholders and with significant assets, built carefully over a decade and upon more than a century of history”.
He added: “Our long-term approach has meant that we are now not wholly dependent on income streams that have been most vulnerable to the ongoing impact of Covid-19.”
Chief executive officer Ferran Soriano said: “Clearly, the 2019-20 accounts in isolation are not the best representation of the reality of the season with delayed player trading and numerous games being played after 30th June 2020, the revenues from which will be accounted in the 2020-21 period.
“A better financial picture of the Covid years will be provided at the end of the 2020-21 season, when the two seasons are combined and normalised.”
One of City’s big outlays this summer is thought to be through attempting to replace Sergio Aguero, but Pep Guardiola claims the club are more likely to sign no-one than spend big money on a new addition.
He said: “There is a big chance, with the situation in the world, the economic problems in world football, we are not going to sign any striker for next season.
“We have enough players in the first team right now and we have interesting players in the academy.
“Maybe we could find a new player to replace Sergio in terms of numbers but it is almost impossible to replace him in terms of what he means to this club.”
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