‘Man City on rollercoaster of cash’ – ‘monstrous’ Sheikh Mansour claim
Man City fans showed their disgruntlement over ticketing issues last week with an effective walk-in protest during the game against Leicester City.
Some supporters remained in the stadium’s concourses for the first nine minutes of the game in protest against the club’s new partnership with third-party ticket resale platform Viagogo – the ninth such agreement City have put in place.
Man City fan groups sent a joint letter to the club in February complaining about ticket price rises and the prospect of local supporters being frozen out.
They said prices have risen 15% since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
However, Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – has insisted City cannot be blamed for hiking prices.
Man City fans must ‘bear their share of the burden’, says Wyness
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness claimed City fans should be “counting their blessings” after recent success following Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in 2008.
Pep Guardiola‘s side are only fighting for FA Cup glory this season but have won the Premier League title in the previous four campaigns – as well as the Champions League in the 2022-23 season.
| Position | Team | Played | Points | GD |
| 4 | Chelsea | 31 | 53 | 17 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 30 | 53 | 13 |
| 6 | Man City | 31 | 52 | 17 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 31 | 51 | 0 |
| 8 | Fulham | 31 | 48 | 5 |
Wyness insisted City fans must “bear their share of the burden” – and does not blame the club for taking commercial decisions as tickets often do not sell out at the Etihad Stadium.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Man City have been built on the money from Sheikh Mansour.
“City fans should be counting their blessings, but I do understand the supporters.
“It was very effective, them not coming in until the ninth minute. The stadium looked empty.
“It surprised me that the average kids’ ticket is now around £35. That’s a lot higher than I expected.
“It’s getting towards the high side.
“Another problem is that so many tickets are appearing on secondary sites. That’s part of the fan unrest as well.
“Historically, the nickname for the Etihad has been the Empty-had – because it wasn’t selling out.
“City have not had that sell-out factor, so you can’t blame them for making commercial decisions.
“The club has been built on money, so it’s a thirsty animal. The fans have got to accept they are on a rollercoaster of cash, and what comes with that is needing to feed the monster.
“They are going to have to bear their share of the burden – because Mansour has certainly stumped up his end of the bargain.”
Man City target Larsson will cost £50m
Meanwhile, Football Insider revealed on Sunday (6 April) Man City will have to pay up to £50million for Hugo Larsson this summer after inadvertedly driving up his asking price.
Sources have told Football Insider that having already received £59m from City for Omar Marmoush in January, Frankfurt won’t be an easy club to deal with this summer.
Larsson’s form with the German side has alerted Guardiola’s side ahead of the off-season.
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