Man City post a loss of £126m for disrupted 2019-20 season

Manchester City have reported a loss of £126m (Sh.19 billion) for the 2019-20 season which was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Premier League leaders, an 11% reduction in revenue to £478.4m. 

However, the figure does not include delayed income from player sales, including proceeds from Leroy Sane’s move to Bayern Munich.

The current season should enable an immediate return to profit, the club expressed their optimism. 

A forecast over the two campaigns translates to a total loss of less than £60m per year. 

The financial results of football clubs for 2019-20 and 2020-21 are to be combined into one year for  Financial Fair Play purposes. 

According to Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Manchester City is “fundamentally strong, with committed shareholders and with significant assets, built carefully over a decade and upon more than a century of history”.

“Our long-term approach has meant that we are now not wholly dependent on income streams that have been most vulnerable to the ongoing impact of Covid-19,” Mubarak added.

The coronavirus pandemic led to the postponement of the Premier League season. between March and June 2020. 

“Clearly, the 2019-20 accounts in isolation are not the best representation of the reality of the season with delayed player trading and numerous games being played after 30 June 2020, the revenues from which will be accounted in the 2020-21 period," Chief executive Ferran Soriano said. 

He added, “A better financial picture of the Covid years will be provided at the end of the 2020-21 season, when the two seasons are combined and normalised.”

In the latter stages of the 2020-21 campaign, Manchester City are competing for four trophies. They are 14 points clear of Manchester United who are the closest Premier League challengers.