Finance guru issues ‘phenomenal’ Man City claim after £544m reveal
Man City have edged out Real Madrid as Europe’s biggest revenue generator because of their “phenomenal” commercial growth.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the 2022 Deloitte Football Money League.
The annual survey, which was published yesterday (20 March), revealed that City’s £540million turnover for 2020-21 was the highest in Europe.
Real Madrid finished a narrow second behind the reigning Premier League champions with £536m revenue across the Covid-hit campaign.
City’s commercial income soared to £271.7m as the pandemic eliminated matchday income
Plumley claimed that the Cityzens’ work in this area helped them top the list for the first time in their history.
“It shows the power of the top clubs in Europe,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“This can be depressing for the other clubs who are nowhere near the list.
“But the reason City are there is down to the increase in commercial revenue, as well as the lack of matchday income for other clubs.
“They have been able to withstand the impact of the pandemic by growing commercially.
“Real Madrid are not far off in second place and they could swap places in future years. But City are only the fourth club ever to top this list in 25 years.
“Okay, we can level questions at the owners about how they’ve got there, but their growth has been phenomenal.
“In terms of English football, you can see this as a changing of the guard. This shows where the power is.”
City won their third Premier League title in four years in 2020-21.
They also reached the Champions League final for the first time, where they were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea.
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