Manchester City have reported a net loss of £126million for the coronavirus-hit 2019-20 season.
But despite the revelation in the club’s annual report, club chiefs are positive that the club will suffer no long-term financial effects, due to the pandemic.
Delayed income from fixtures and players sales – the proceeds of Leroy Sane’s switch to Bayern Munich are not included in the most recent set of accounts – and season card refunds resulted in an 11 per cent reduction in revenue.
City expect an immediate return to profit for the current season and are forecasting a loss of less than £60milion a year over the two campaigns.
In his report, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak describes the business as “fundamentally strong, with committed shareholders and with significant assets, built carefully over a decade and upon more than a century of history”.
He added: “Our long-term approach has meant that we are now not wholly dependent on income streams that have been most vulnerable to the ongoing impact of Covid-19.”
Chief executive officer Ferran Soriano said: “Clearly, the 2019-20 accounts in isolation are not the best representation of the reality of the season with delayed player trading and numerous games being played after 30th June 2020, the revenues from which will be accounted in the 2020-21 period.
“A better financial picture of the Covid years will be provided at the end of the 2020-21 season, when the two seasons are combined and normalised.”
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