Manchester City named most valuable brand in world football after posting record profits

Treble winners release annual report announcing record all-time revenue for second consecutive year

Manchester City's Norwegian striker Erling Haaland holds the European Cup. AFP

The team buses pass through the fans in the streets. PA

Manchester City's Phil Foden with the Champions League trophy, Aymeric Laporte with the Emirates FA Cup and Ruben Dias with the Premier League trophy. PA

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola celebrates during the treble parade. PA

Manchester City's Phil Foden with the Champions League trophy. PA

Manchester City's Phil Foden with the Champions League trophy, Aymeric Laporte with the Emirates FA Cup and Ruben Dias with the Premier League trophy. PA

Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips, left, with the FA Cup, Phil Foden with the Champions League trophy, and Bernardo Silva, right, with the Premier League trophy during the parade in Manchester to celebrate the club winning the treble. PA

The trophy parade is cheered by Manchester City fans as it passes through the streets of Manchester. AP

Fans take photos as the Manchester City bus passes through Manchester. Reuters

Manchester City's Bernardo Silva lifts the Premier League trophy. PA

Manchester City's Phil Foden with the Champions League trophy. PA

Manchester City fans take shelter from the rain ahead of the parade. PA

A City fan climbs a traffic light to get a better view. Reuters

City fans wait for the parade. PA

Manchester City fans in the rain during the parade. PA

A City fan with an inflatable Erling Haaland doll. PA

City fans line the streets of Manchester before the trophy parade. Getty

A street vendor with Champions League trophy balloons ahead of the treble parade. PA

A Manchester City fan looks upwards towards the rain clouds as the parade is delayed due to bad weather. Reuters

A fan with an inflatable Jack Grealish doll. PA

City fans try to shelter from the rain. Reuters

Manchester City's historic success on the pitch has been matched on the balance sheet after the Premier League club announced record revenue and profits in their annual report for the 2022/23 season.

City earned revenues of £712.8 million ($889.4 million) to June 2023 according to Manchester City FC Ltd's annual report, an increase of £99.8 million (16.3%) over the previous season, along with a record net profit of £80.4 million.

"The 2022/23 season saw Manchester City scale new heights and set new benchmarks," City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in a statement. "In short, last season saw Manchester City achieve the greatest football and commercial year of its storied history."

City experienced growth over the previous year across all revenue streams of commercial, matchday and broadcasting.

Commercial revenues accounted for £341.4 million, followed by broadcast at £299.4 million and then matchday at £71.9 million, for a profit of £80.4 million, nearly doubling the previous year's record profit of £41.7 million.

Matchday revenue saw an increase of £17.4 million (32%) with a 99 per cent occupancy rate at the Etihad Stadium and four more home games played across all competitions. However, the average attendance of 53,249 fans over 19 Premier League games was just shy of their record of 54,130 set in 2018/19.

Broadcasting revenues climbed by £50.4 million over the previous year (20.2%), primarily due to the club reaching and winning the Champions League and FA Cup finals.

Profits also benefited from significant transfer business with £121.7 million generated from player sales, up a significant 79.8 per cent over the previous 12 months.

City earned top spot on the Brand Finance Football 50 list with a brand value of £1.51 billion, passing La Liga side Real Madrid (£1.46 billion). Manchester United were fourth at £1.36 billion.

It marked the first time an English club had earned the top spot since 2018 with the report citing City's decade of dominance on the pitch and the highest revenue of any of the clubs in the report as key reasons for their rise in the rankings.

City also topped the Deloitte Football Money League for the second consecutive year with the biggest revenues of any European football club, ahead of runners-up Real Madrid.

On the pitch, manager Pep Guardiola guided City to a third successive Premier League title, an enthralling 2-1 FA Cup final victory over rivals Manchester United, and a first Champions League title.

The women's team finished fourth in the Women's Super League (WSL), but saw average attendance climb to 3,555, up 84 per cent over the 2021/22 season.

City have been majority-owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, since August 2008. In that time, the club has been transformed from the second-best team in Manchester to now the most valuable football club in the world.