To increase their fanbase and sponsorship, Liverpool has lucrative long-term deals with companies like Nike until 2026, and Standard Chartered till 2027, while Manchester City is making further inroads into the Indian market by teaming up with Mukesh Ambani’s Jio this month, according to their respective club websites.
When it comes to dominating the English Premier League in the recent past, nobody has done it better than the two stalwarts – Manchester City and Liverpool. Both clubs have ruled the roost for the past 5 years. However, the story off the pitch is not the same as Liverpool is finding it increasingly difficult to financially compete with Manchester City.
Manchester City released its financials for the financial year 2021/22 in early November, which reflected a revenue of £613m – the second-best in the history of the Premier League, according to sources. Additionally, the Premier League champions became the first club in football history to have a squad valued at over £1bn.
The commercial income of Manchester City stands at £309m in 2021/22, while that of Liverpool was £218m in 2020/21 – the difference being £91m. A further record profit of £41.7m made the City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak describe the club’s financial triumphs as, “the most successful financial year in the club’s history.”
Liverpool, on the other hand, is expected to generate revenues exceeding £600m for the same time frame reportedly. Their finances are forecasted to be released in the next couple of months. A handful of analysts have predicted that Liverpool will have a record turnover of £602m with a profit of £76m not accounting for taxes. The same analysts have also forecasted that Liverpool’s commercial revenue will appreciate by approximately £23.6m as compared to the previous financial year.
However, according to other sources, there are differences in how both the clubs operate as City’s owners have heavily financed the club. Considering the ownership funding in the previous 10 years until the financial year 2020/21, Manchester City’s owners have spent €773m while Liverpool’s ownership has spent €124m. Therefore, financing by club owners can play a pivotal role in determining successful outcomes, both on and off the pitch.
Nevertheless, City had its share of problems when it was accused of breaching the Financial Fair Play rules in 2020 for inflating sponsorship deals by UEFA. A ban from participating in European competitions was imposed upon the club by UEFA, which was subsequently overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on appeal.