MANCHESTER City have the second highest wage bill in world football.
Yet shirt sales are lower than the rest of the Prem Big Six suggest Pep Guardiola’s men earn trophies and money – but have not won over hearts and minds.
Uefa’s latest statistical run-down of the European game found City’s wage bill of £466m last season was behind only PSG, who laid out £553m in 2023-24.
City’s squad cost £1.09bn to put together, a figure only exceeded by the £1.39bn cost of assembling the Chelsea squad that finished sixth in the Prem under Mauricio Pochettino.
The West London side has still failed to challenge at the top of the Prem this year.
The club has struggled to keep pace with the race for Champions League qualification.
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According to the European Club Finance and Investment Landscape report: “Chelsea FC’s squad at the end of the club’s 2024 financial year was officially the most expensive ever assembled, with a combined transfer cost of £1.39bn.
“This comfortably surpassed the value of the Real Madrid squad of 2020, which cost £1.12bn.”
City have been the dominant force in English football for the past decade, winning seven of the last 11 Prem crowns, eight domestic cups and the Champions League in that period.
It has seen them rise from commercial revenues of just £23m in 2009 to 349m last season – a stunning rise of more than 1500 per cent.
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But despite that, City’s shirt and merchandising income, which Uefa describe as “a proxy for each individual club’s global fan base” was only the 11th highest in Europe.
City made £63.8m through replica kit and other club-branded sales, barely half the £123m earned by both Liverpool and Manchester United – and way below the £164.6m grossed by Real Madrid.
The Cityzens have released four kits this season with the traditional home, away and goalkeeper jerseys.
But there has also been the addition of the ‘Definitely City’ special kit that was worn earlier in the campaign.
The shirt marked the 30th anniversary of rock band Oasis’ release of ‘Definitely Maybe’.
It was originally on sale for £80 but like the rest of the club’s shirts can now be bought for £48.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have seen their merchandising sales be overtaken by London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
But in terms of the Premier League it is Liverpool that reigns supreme as they make the most money from merchandising sales.
The Reds are just £300,000 ahead of Man United.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
