Manchester City post record £535.2m revenue in 2018-19 annual report

Manchester City brought in a record £535.2m last season, the club's 2018-19 annual report says.

It was City's 11th successive year of revenue growth and closes the gap on local rivals Manchester United, the Premier League's richest club.

The figure is projected to rise again next year given City have already qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Payments from a £45m-a-year Puma kit deal will also start to take effect.

United have already said their turnover will fall to between £560m and £580m this year because of their failure to qualify for the Champions League.

The period covers a campaign when City's men's and women's teams won a combined six trophies, including a clean sweep of English domestic honours for Pep Guardiola's side.

“This outcome represents not just a season, but a decade of hard work,” said Blues chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak. “The organisation is now at a level of maturity that allows us to plan in multi-year cycles.”

City recorded a profit of £10.1m and a wage/turnover ratio of 59%.

The club might still have to pay £200m in “additional transfer fees, signing-on fees and loyalty bonuses” – that figure was £159m in 2018.

“These victories are not accidents,” said chief executive Ferran Soriano. “They are the product of careful planning, consistent hard work and the acknowledgement of the need to stay humble and hungry.

“Our success is measured by playing beautiful football and by fighting for titles every April and May at the season's end.”

City are the subject of a Financial Fair Play investigation by Uefa but say they are “entirely confident of a positive outcome when the matter is considered by an independent judicial body”.