London, Oct 19 (IANS) English Premier League (EPL) leaders Manchester City have raked in a record profit and revenues, the football club said in its annual report.
The club made a 20.5 million pound ($25 million) profit and record revenues of 391.8 million pounds ($480 million), its 2015-2016 annual report revealed. The club also said on Tuesday it was its eighth successive season of improved year on year financial performance, reports Xinhua.
In addition, City reported that their wage/revenue ratio of 50 per cent is among the best in football.
The report said significant activities in the year included the opening of the newly expanded Etihad Stadium, in which attendance records kept soaring, as well as investment in City's parent company City Football Group by China Media Capital Holdings (CMC), which valued the Group at $3 billion.
The review period covered by these results included the 54 million pounds ($66.2 million) purchase of Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne in a deal that broke the club's transfer record.
It also included the 49 million pounds ($60 million) signing of England winger Raheem Sterling and the 32 million pounds ($39.2 million) acquisition of Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi.
Chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak was pleased with the continued on and off field evolution of Manchester City, saying that the 2015-16 season was seen as a turning point in the club's evolution.
"Manchester City has now reached a level of sporting and commercial maturity that allows one to feed the other," the chairman said.
He added: "I believe the 2016-17 season represents the beginning of a critical new phase in the evolution of Manchester City. We know that we have the playing, coaching and off-field capabilities at our disposal to achieve great things in English and European football in the years ahead."
