Stefan Borson drops Man City transfer verdict after stunning £400m+ reveal
Manchester City are gearing up for the January transfer window as they consider strengthening their squad.
Man City beat West Ham 3-0 on Saturday (20 December) to remain within two points of leaders Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.
Providing an insight into their financial situation ahead of January, Man City released their accounts for 2024-25 last week, revealing their revenue fell from a club-record £715million in 2023-24 to £694.1m last season.
While Man City have paid the highest wages in the Premier League over the past few years, their total dropped from £412.6m to £408.4m in 2024-25.
That came after Pep Guardiola’s side failed to win a trophy for just the second season since the Catalan boss arrived at the Etihad Stadium in 2016.
Kevin De Bruyne exit to have ‘big impact’ on Man City’s finances
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider the 10-time English champions will be focused on reducing their wage bill alongside strengthening their squad.
Guardiola was backed in the transfer market last season, with Man City spending £352.9m on new signings across the campaign.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Man City’s latest accounts, Borson said: “I always go straight to the wages and have a look at what’s happening on the wage side of things.
“You don’t know how much of the wage bill is associated with just the first team, but you can obviously get a feel on a like-for-like basis of the overall wage bill, and it remained stubbornly high, I would say. It was just over £400m.
“Now, clearly you’ve had a lot of players leave for the current season, players like Kevin De Bruyne and Gundogan, and that will have a big impact on the wage bill. But they have added as well, so Donnarumma has come in and other players.”
Man City spent around £180m in the latest summer transfer window, having signed seven players.
Man City’s wages are ‘too high’ after documents analysed
Borson insisted the wage bill at the Etihad is “too high” following Man City’s transfer business over the past year.
“You’re going to have the full-year impact of those players who were signed in the January,” said Borson.
“Remember, these accounts will only have five to six months of those players, and the current season’s accounts will have all of it, so the wage bill is still too high.
“I think you’re going to see City focused on reducing that wage bill alongside the potential of buying and strengthening the squad.
“I don’t think you can have one without the other, so I do think City are going to go through a period where they’re going to have to somehow either reduce the size of the squad or just be generally more cautious on wages.”
Man City’s next fixture sees them take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday (27 December).
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