Manchester City F.C. ownership and finances
Manchester City Football Club dates back to 1894, when Ardwick A.F.C. dissolved and were reformed as Manchester City Football Club Ltd. Over recent years, the ownership and finances of Manchester City Football Club have been tumultuous with various owners of contrasting fortunes much in line with their inconsistent trend on the pitch. The club is currently owned by the City Football Group (CFG), a holding company with the majority stake owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, a smaller consortium of owners from the United States and China collectively own 24%.
Since 4 August 2008, the club has been majority owned by
Current overview
Level of financial power
Since the Robinho shock signing on the transfer deadline day in September 2008, the club have been branded "the richest club in the world" by the media and the Robinho signing heralded a new era of spending for the club with Sheikh Mansour willing to invest in the club off the pitch and on it by signing new players.
Having spent in approximately £320m on transfers[3] from the arrival of Sheikh Mansour in September 2008 to September 2010 it was reported that owner Sheikh Mansour had earmarked £500m for transfers – regardless of any revenue during that two-year period. The report highlighted the club's immense spending power, meaning as of September 2010 there was a surplus transfer budget of around £175m[4] after the transfer window of summer 2010.[5] Since September 2010 up to September 2011, approximately a further £100m has been spent, but with players being sold this is around £80 to 85m in net expenditure.
Board
As of 21 August 2015[6]
Position | Name |
---|---|
Chairman | Khaldoon Al Mubarak |
Director | Ruigang Li |
Non-Executive Director | Simon Pearce |
Non-Executive Director | Marty Edelman |
Non-Executive Director | Mohamed Al Mazrouei |
Non-Executive Director | John Macbeath |
Non-Executive Director | Alberto Galassi |
Since September 2008, the club is owned fully by Sheikh Mansour. Khaldoon Al Mubarak has been Chairman since September 2008, when he took over from previous owner, Thaksin Shinawatra.
Season | Revenue | Change | Deloitte Money League |
---|---|---|---|
2004–05 | €90.1m | 17 | |
2005–06 | €89.4m | €0.7m | 17 |
2006–07 | €84.6m | €4.8m | N/A |
2007–08 | €104m | €19.4m | 20 |
2008–09 | €101.2m[9] | €2.8m | 19 |
2009–10 | €144m[10] | €42.8m | 11 |
2010–11 | €168m[11] | €24m | 12 |
2011–12
|
€285.6m[11] | €117.6m | 7 |
2012–13
|
€316.2m[12] | €30.6m | 6 |
2013–14
|
€414.4m[13] | €98.2m | 6 |
Financial structure
The club posted a loss of £92.5 million for the fiscal year ending 31 May 2009, up from £32.5 million in May 2008.[14] Under the new ownership, the club embarked on a complete transformation of the club by acquiring new players such as Carlos Tevez, Robinho, David Silva, Yaya Touré and Mario Balotelli, while improving training facilities.
Future Eastlands redevelopment – Etihad Campus
In March 2010, the club signed an initial agreement with Manchester City Council and the New East Manchester Agency to explore alternative leisure attraction proposals to replace the doomed Supercasino which was originally planned to be built next to Eastlands.[15] Furthermore the agreement of understanding gave the club permission to build and expand the new facilities it wishes to build.[15]
In July 2011, it was announced the area where the developments will be built will be called the Etihad Campus.[18] In return Etihad Airways will pay sponsorship to Manchester City F.C. for ten years, and for Manchester City Council who own the stadium, Etihad will create a British hub for Etihad Airways at Manchester Airport creating further jobs[18] and helping to fuel the £600m Manchester Airport City project.[19] When complete, revenue from the Etihad Campus will go towards helping the club meet the new Uefa Financial Fair Play Regulations[20]
New training complex
The club is currently planning to move from its current
Leisure complex
Preliminary preparation began in April 2010 with remiadiation of the 17 acres (69,000 m2) of empty land around the Eastlands stadium.[23][24]
Stadium expansion and lease renegotiation
After increasing tickets figures and a sell out all 36,000 season tickets for the 2010–11 season[25] the club has explored options for increasing the stadium's capacity. The stadium is currently leased to Manchester City and the owners are believed to want to buy the stadium outright[citation needed]
The lease on the stadium was renegotiated in October 2010, with Manchester City paying Manchester City Council a flat base rate of £3 million a year rather than the council taking half of the revenue of ticket sales over 35,000. This previous system earned the council approximately £2 million a year,[26] whereas the new, higher £3 million single payment agreement signals the club are looking to expand the stadium.[26] The agreement is linked to Manchester City's willingness to "considering potential development as part of a contribution to the regeneration of east Manchester", proposals which are being planned.[26]
History
When | Name |
---|---|
before 1904 | John Chapman (first spell) |
1904–1905 | Waltham Forrest |
1905–1906 | John Allison |
1906–1914 | W.A. Wilkinson |
1914–1920 | John Chapman (second spell) |
1920–1928 | Lawrence Furniss |
1928–1935 | Albert Hughes |
1935–1954 | Bob Smith |
1954–1956 | Walter Smith |
1956–1964 | Alan Douglas |
1964–1971 | Albert Alexander Jr. |
1971–1972 | Eric Alexander |
1972–1994 | Peter Swales |
1994–1998 | Francis Lee |
1998–2003 | David Bernstein |
2003–2007 | John Wardle |
2007–2008 | Thaksin Shinawatra |
2008 | Sulaiman Al Fahim
|
2008–present | Khaldoon Al Mubarak |
1894–1972
The modern day Manchester City Football Club became a registered limited company on 16 April 1894.[28] Shares in the club were owned by a number of club figures, who all had one share each. The first Chairman was John Chapman, a local publican. Edward Hulton, an early board member and influential newspaper owner in the early 20th Century, took charge after City were relegated in 1902.[29] In the 1920s Lawrence Furniss was Chairman, he had served the club in various capacities since playing for them when the club was still Gorton AFC in the mid-1880s.
After the end of hostilities in the mid-1940s the Chairman was Robert Smith. In the mid-50s Walter Smith became Chairman before Alan Douglas took over between 1956 and 1964. Douglas stepped down due to ill health, allowing the Alexander family to gain control.
Albert Alexander Jr., son of the man who had founded the
Smith and Cussons gained places on the board in 1971.[32] In October, Allison took sole charge of the first team, and Mercer became "general manager".[33] By November 1971 Albert Alexander's age and declining health had become a factor. His son Eric took over as chairman, becoming the youngest chairman in the Football League, and Albert was given the title of President.[34]
Swales era, 1973–1994
At the start of the 1973–74 season Eric Alexander announced his intention to step down in October.
After over 20 years of frustration delivering little success, Swales fell out of favour with the Manchester City supporters who led a long anti-Swales campaign. Momentum gathered in the 1990s, in the form of a movement named Forward With Franny, backing former City player Francis Lee's attempt to gain control of the club.[38]
In 1994, with Swales was ousted from his chairmanship by former City player Francis Lee, whose paper business F. H. Lee Ltd. had made him a multimillionaire. Lee gained control of the club by purchasing £3 million of shares at a price of £13.35 per share.[39]
Swales was offered a role as life president at the club upon his departure but he never returned to Maine Road. It was a sad departure for a chairman who loyally invested large sums of money into Manchester City in search of new success and greater parity with a resurgent Manchester United.[37] Swales died on 3 May 1996, three days before a now yoyo club, Manchester City were relegated from the top tier of English football.
Lee, Bernstein and Wardle (1994–2007)
Upon becoming Chairman, Lee made a series of extravagant claims about his plans for the club, announcing that, "This will be the happiest club in the land. The players will be the best paid and we'll drink plenty of champagne, celebrate and sing until we're hoarse."[38] The club floated on the OFEX exchange in 1995, valuing the club at £8 million.[40]
In 1996, Lee appointed his friend
Chairman Franny Lee tried to new investors into the club, one of which was Saudi billionaire
In November 1999, broadcasting company
Bernstein resigned on 5 March 2003, believing that differences of opinion regarding player transfers had undermined his ability to lead the club.[46] Bernstein had favoured a fiscally conservative transfer policy, but manager Kevin Keegan and major shareholder John Wardle wished to spend heavily on new players, such as Robbie Fowler.[47] Wardle became Temporary Chairman, taking the position on a permanent basis two months later.[48] Bryan Bodek, who had been a board member since February 2000,[49] was appointed as his deputy.
Thaksin Shinawatra (2007)
In December 2006, the club issued a statement regarding a possible takeover,[50] prompting press speculation about potential buyers. On 24 April, former City player Ray Ranson announced interest in making an offer for the club,[51] though the club denied press reports that a bid had been made.[52] On 1 May 2007, it was announced that deposed Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had been granted access to the club's accounts.[53] The deal, however, was thrown into doubt when Thailand's Military Government froze £830 million of Shinawatra's assets after they investigated allegations of corruption made against him.[54] On 21 June, the Manchester City board accepted an £81.6 million offer for the club from Thaksin Shinawatra and advised the shareholders to accept the bid. On 6 July, Thaksin finally acquired a 75% share in the club, enough to take full control of the club and delist it as full owner.[55] One of his first moves was to schedule a press conference to announce former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson as his new manager.[56]
Under Eriksson they made a positive start to the season. However, City's form in the second half of the season was weak, as they finished 9th in the final table but finished with their highest ever Premier League points total and the season included double victories over rivals Manchester United. Months of speculation started in March 2008 as the season drew to a close over Eriksson's future. Manchester City fans launched a "Save our Sven (SOS)"[57] campaign to prevent his sacking. This was to no avail as Eriksson's one-year reign as manager ended on 2 June 2008,[58] following weeks of speculation about his future.[59]
On 5 June 2008, Mark Hughes was unveiled as Manchester City's new manager on a three-year contract.[60] The appointment of Hughes as manager placed a veil over Thaksin Shinawatra's endless trouble with the Thai authorities and now had his £800m fortune frozen in Thailand and did not wish to go back to Thailand to clear his name.[citation needed]
Throughout August 2008, media outlets claimed that the club was in complete disarray and that City were on the brink of financial meltdown with Shinawatra asking a now disillusioned former chairman
The dream of bringing back the glory era to City set out by Shinawatra just a year before now seemed unrealistic.[63]
Sheikh Mansour (since 2008)
In August 2008, it became increasingly likely that Thaksin would fail to retrieve his frozen assets from Thailand. His wife,
In response to this, Thaksin offered to resign his position on the board, an offer which was rejected by
As part of the takeover, Doctor
The period of due diligence ended on 21 September, with Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, owner of the Abu Dhabi United Group, and Thaksin Shinawatra agreeing the transfer of the club on 23 September.[68][69] As part of their new board, Doctor Al-Fahim's presumed position of Co-Chairman was conspicuously filled by Khaldoon Al Mubarak instead, with Al-Fahim's loose-tongued comments about buying an all-star team cited as the reason for his demotion, his comments having produced much negative media backlash and having gone against Al Nahyan's more long-term and rather more restrained plans for the club.
In the months following the takeover, Thaksin held the position of Honorary President, but was removed from the position in February 2009 after a Thai court convicted him for corruption.[70] The following month, the club ceased their operations in Thailand.[71]
City Football Group and Chinese investment
Following Manchester City's success in the
As they attempted to branch out not only their investments but also their foreign brand appeal CFG turned to China in the latter half of 2015, first offering themselves as a host location for high-level business talks between the government leadership of the
European Super League
In April 2021, Manchester City was one of the biggest clubs to join the proposed European Super League.[78] Many saw it as a betrayal to the supporters and fans.[79] City’s manager Pep Guardiola, who has been carrying the responsibility to make the team win the Champions League, also condemned the decision.[80] However, many sources confirmed that Manchester City, along with fellow English club Chelsea, were manipulated into joining the European Super League, hence after extensive backlash from the fans on social media, the football authorities, the Premier League, and the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the club had to reconsider their plans. Eventually, they backed out from the proposed multi-million-dollar league.[81]
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- Bibliography
- James, Gary (2006). Manchester City - The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 1-85983-512-0.
- James, Gary (2002). Manchester: The Greatest City. Polar Publishing.
- Clayton, David (2002). Everything under the blue moon: the complete book of Manchester City FC - and more!. Edinburgh: Mainstream publishing. ISBN 1-84018-687-9.
External links
- Manchester City financial information Archived 29 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine - at mcfc.co.uk
- Manchester City financial annual report for 2009–10 season Archived 4 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine - at annualreport.mcfc.co.uk