Man City: Why Abu Dhabi will continue backing the club despite war in Middle East
Manchester City's Abu Dhabi ownership will continue to fully back the club despite events in the Middle East.
That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, after City Football Group announced a loss of £291million in their latest financial accounts.
City Football Group, made up of 11 clubs worldwide, also saw revenue drop from £933m in 2023-24 to £888m in 2024-25.
The group was founded in 2013, five years after Sheikh Mansour bought Man City, which changed the financial fortunes of the Premier League club to compete with Europe's elite.
City Football Group adds to 'major' Man City valuation
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 - says that he is "not concerned" about the loss City Football Group have reported.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks City Football Group is a "prime asset" for the Abu Dhabi ownership.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Now, I suppose, again, would global events mean that City are going to get less from their owners in Abu Dhabi? I doubt it.
"I think they're going to always sustain that relationship. I think it's a very important part of the view that Abu Dhabi have of being seen in the rest of the sports world, and it's a prime asset, and it's done very well for them. So I don't see that being a problem.
"I would have always thought there could have been some paring down of the city group at some stage. I think there are some clubs in there that maybe don't make quite so much sense in terms of regional positions, and they might be under 10 clubs, but that hasn't been the case.
"They've made no divestments. They've just carried on growing. But I think if they ever needed to, they could divest and easily cut down that bill. Right now it's sunk money into building a major valuation add to Man City.
"So overall, I'm not concerned about the losses because they can sustain them, and it's certainly something that they're growing for the future. And I think full kudos to Man City and the way they've done that.”
Man City's summer transfer position confirmed
Sources have told Football Insider that City Football Group's losses will not impact Man City's spending in this summer's transfer window.
Man City are expected to pay big money to land both Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson and Newcastle United defender Tino Livramento in the summer.
Pep Guardiola wants to continue strengthening his squad as rivals Arsenal look on course to beat his side to the Premier League title.