Kieran Maguire: Man City applying political ‘pressure’ as £115m Uefa cash pile at risk
Man City will lobby to retain the current Uefa coefficient-based cash distribution system.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about how Champions League sides are remunerated in line with historic performance.
Per The Times last Tuesday (23 August), a band of teams in the European Club Association are fighting for a more equitable distribution model.
Around a third of the total current pot is awarded to clubs based on their 10-year coefficient, which is calculated according to performance in the competition.
Critics argue that this system insulates Europe’s elite from failure by effectively ringfencing their wealth.
City’s accounts show that they trousered £114.7million in Uefa revenue in 2020-21, the last recorded financial year and the season they reached the Champions League final for the first time.
Maguire argues that City are one of the main beneficiaries of the current system and will do everything to ensure it stays that way.
“For the likes of Man City, I think they will be keeping the pressure on to keep things as they are,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“While they haven’t won the Champions League, they have one of the best records in recent years and we see that in their coefficient.
“The money is split incrementally in 32nds. If you’re bottom of the coefficient, you get one 32nd, if you’re second-bottom you get two 32nds and so on.
“City’s wage bill is around £350m, so they will be keen to consolidate future revenues to protect that.”
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