February 12 – Manchester City’s chief executive has pledged the big-spending club will break even this season and has rejected the suggestion that they will breach UEFA’s financial fair play rules.
Ferran Soriano also told reporters at a conference in Dubai that City aimed to be profitable within the next two campaigns.
Despite always having had a huge fan base, since being bought by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan in 2008, City have been transformed into one of Europe’s richest and most powerful outfits, winning the English Premier League in 2012 for the first time in two generations to emerge from the shadows of Manchester United.
But success came only after a massive spending spree, with £610 million splashed out on transfers from 2008-13.
UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules cap losses at €45 million = ($61.41 million) in the two seasons between 2011 and 2013, the first monitoring period. According to latest financial figures, City’s losses last season were £51.6 millioon but that was half the previous deficit.
Clubs that do not comply could be excluded from the Champions League but Soriano said: “We are working towards breaking even this season. There are a lot of reliefs that can be taken for investment in youth football and old investments.”
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