Stefan Borson drops verdict on Man City’s ‘very high’ wage bill after new documents analysed
Manchester City have a “very high” wage bill after a new Uefa report has provided details around their spending.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider Pep Guardiola’s side will have made financial submissions to the governing body.
The official club accounts, which were released in December, showed the wage bill at the Etihad Stadium dropped from £413million in 2023-24 to £408m last season after they failed to win a major trophy.
However, Man City’s wages could rise again this season if they manage to win the Premier League title.
Why Uefa reports Man City's wages differently
Uefa’s European Club Finance and Investment Landscape report, which the governing body publishes annually, has revealed different wage figures to those posted in Man City’s accounts.
It shows the Manchester giants’ wage bill stood at £487m, making it the highest in Europe.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed the potential reasons behind the discrepancies in the numbers.
“Well, Uefa have their own reporting perimeters that they require clubs to report to,” said Borson.
“They include different things from the factors and the elements that are reported to people like Deloitte, who produce the Money League, or to the individual entities that are reported on Companies House by the club.
“For example, Manchester City no doubt have to include in their Uefa submission probably the submission that they make to the Premier League. It's just that we never see it.”
Why Man City have to make submissions about their owners
Borson revealed Man City will have included details about their owners, the City Football Group (CFG), in their submissions to Uefa.
“They have to include chunks of CFG, the parent company, and cost within the club perimeter that they report into Uefa,” said Borson.
“That's just the way it works. The only way that we learn these things is by things like the Uefa report. I haven't gone back and checked actually what the difference was between the reported number in Deloitte last year and the Uefa number, but there will have been that difference last year as well.
“There are differences in various teams and then other teams their reported number that was with Deloitte will match exactly. But I think clearly City's overall wage bill is very high.”