Kieran Maguire: Man City ‘protected’ by £272m shield as 50 deals analysed
Man City were shielded from the worst of the pandemic because of their plethora of commercial deals.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about City’s financial performance in the Covid era.
City topped the 2022 Deloitte Football Money League, published on 20 March, with revenues of £540million for the 2020-21 campaign.
They recorded £271.7m of commercial income over the same period.
The reigning Premier League champions list 50 commercial partners, 34 global and 16 regional, on their website.
City have also announced new deals with a hotel firm and cryptocurrency provider in 2021-22, which will factor into the next set of accounts.
And the strength of their sponsorship and corporate tie-ins meant they have fared better than many of their rivals during Covid, claims Maguire.
“City have got the protection from the commercial side of things,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“They didn’t have any significant reductions in terms of commercial revenue, unlike some of the other clubs.
“That is because of the scope, geographic location and concentration of many of their sponsorship deals.
“They also don’t rely as heavily on matchday income as some of those other clubs, so they weren’t hit as hard by the pandemic on a relative basis.”
City’s prize money income was substantial in 2020-21 as they won the Premier League and reached the final of the Champions League.
They recorded a total profit of £2.4m, making them the only Premier League team to have recorded a surplus for the season.
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