Man City owners to ‘burn cash’ despite £292m loss; Stefan Borson breaks down CFG infrastructure strategy
Manchester City’s ownership group will continue to “burn cash” after investing in multiple infrastructure projects.
That is according to former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider it comes as no surprise the City Football Group (CFG) continues to be loss-making.
CFG was created in 2013 to build a multi-club organisation, with Pep Guardiola’s side forming part of its 12-team portfolio.
The group published its latest accounts for 2024-25 earlier this month, showing its revenue dropped from £933m in 2023-24 to £888m last season.
Meanwhile, the group’s pre-tax losses increased from £122.2m to £292.3m across the same period, raising questions around how that could impact Man City’s financial situation.
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Sheikh Mansour is CFG’s largest shareholder after increasing his stake to more than 80 per cent over the past couple of years, having injected hundreds of millions through his vehicle, Newton Investment and Development.
That cash has gone towards helping fund multiple infrastructure projects, which include the expansion of the North Stand at the Etihad Stadium and the construction of New York City’s new stadium.
| CFG Financial Metric | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue | £933m | £888m | – £45m |
| Pre-Tax Loss | £122.2m | £292.3m | + £170.1m |
| Majority Owner | Newton Invest. | Sheikh Mansour | Stake Increase |
Source: Companies House / City Football Group Limited
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed the reasons behind CFG’s losses.
“Well, the group is obviously dominated by Manchester City,” said Borson.
“There’s no real surprise that the group continues to be loss-making. The reality is that the game generally around the world is financially not performing particularly strongly.
“Despite it obviously being an incredibly mature industry, we’re certainly nowhere near the situation where clubs are profitable and all of the clubs that City have bought in any event are in growth phases to try and build their presence in the way that Manchester City have done over the last 15 years, 20 years of ownership, so it’s no surprise that they’re all loss-making.”
Why Man City’s owners will continue investing in projects
Borson revealed Man City’s owners will continue investing in projects despite the losses.
“It’s no surprise that they’re investing in all sorts of areas within each of those individual clubs,” said Borson.
“That’s going to continue to burn cash. Clearly, in the US they’re building a stadium. There’s significant infrastructure being built in Manchester in terms of the stadium, in terms of the concert venue that they’re a part owner of, the new square that they’re building.
“They’ve just applied for planning permission for some sort of Mamma Mia stage show, so there’s investment all over the place.
“Obviously, that’s not going to be covered by the profits of the football club. Those areas are trying to be self-sustaining parts of the business.”
Man City continue to make up the majority of CFG’s revenue after releasing their latest accounts in December.
Although they remain in a strong financial position, the Manchester giants’ turnover fell from a club-record £715m in 2023-24 to £694.1m last season.
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