The Athletic has appointed Chris Weatherspoon as its first dedicated football finance writer. Chris is a chartered accountant who will use his financial acumen to explore the money behind the game. He is starting with a series this week analyzing the financial health of some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.
Last summer, Manchester City didn’t feel the need to do much, as rivals strengthened and Premier League splurging continued, the reigning champions of the division were the lowest spenders, with £23 million out of £2.4 billion spent by England’s top clubs.
A rebuild would be necessary, but City could wait another year. The departure of Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid did little to dim sunny dispositions in the blue half of Manchester, not least as his sale brought in the world’s biggest fee of the window, £64m ($83m), potentially rising to £81m.
Then the rains came. City, imperious under Pep Guardiola, imploded in the autumn and on Christmas Day, sat seventh. In the revamped Champions League, they were in danger of going out at the first hurdle (avoided, just). And so, like any rich protagonist in a rut, they went shopping.
They spent £183m in the winter, the highest-ever mid-season spend behind Chelsea’s £275m two years ago. City were the only club to top £100m in fees, disbursing almost three times as much as next-highest spending Al Nassr of the Saudi Pro League (whose entire outlay went on coaxing Jhon Duran from Aston Villa). Defensively, City accounted for over two-fifths of the Premier League’s spend.
Manchester City could afford to spend so much because of years of financial prosperity, with little fear of a decline in bank accounts. And as for profit and sustainability rules (PSR), unlike when UEFA first introduced financial limits in the early 2010s, City have nothing to concern themselves with.
The club’s owners haven’t put money in as shares since a £23m injection in 2021, meaning City can only lose up to £15m of their own money over three years — but the club is so profitable such matters are hardly on their radar.
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