The CEO of Manchester City, Ferran Soriano, revealed yesterday that the "spectacular" commercial appeal of Manchester City will allow them to overcome the barrier of 800 million euros in revenue this season, a figure that has allowed them to become the most expensive club in the world. , beating Real Madrid. For this, a campaign of unprecedented success on the pitch has been key, with Pep Guardiola's men winning the treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League.
Beyond the sporting successes, this year has been a period of unprecedented success for City. Earlier this month, the Manchester club was named the world's most valuable football club brand by topping the 'Brand Finance Football 50' report for the first time. The 2023 edition detailed a positive growth of 34% in brand value since the COVID-19 pandemic, and surpasses Real Madrid in the top spot, becoming the first English club to reach the top of the report in five years. .
The CEO of the English team spoke at the presentation of OKX as Official Sleeve Partner at the Etihad Stadium: “The commercial appeal of the club has grown spectacularly. We already know that our income this last season will exceed 700 million pounds, more than 800 million euros and close to 900 million dollars. This will be the all-time British record, but it could also be number one in Europe and the world,” he noted.
"This has been developing over the last decade and is based on the football we play. Marketing plays a role, but ultimately it depends on the product. Whether you have a good football team or not, and we have a good football team, football that plays well and wins”, explained Soriano.
“That helps us sell more, to give you a figure, on our club's channels this season that has just ended we have sold 80% more than the previous season. But in the first weeks of this season we are selling more than 80% more than the previous season again ”, he assures. "As an example, in the four days after the Champions League final we sold the same as we sold in a month," he revealed.
“It's about winning and playing good football and then naturally more people want to watch the games, more people want to buy merchandise, more companies want to partner with us. It has happened to other clubs before, it is happening now to Manchester City. We play some of the best football in the world, people want to see it, they fall in love with us and become a fan”, he reflected. “That brings commercial opportunities that bring more money that we then invest in better players, better facilities and a better club in general. It's a virtuous circle."
Ferran has pointed to “hard work”, “intelligence”, “resilience” and “consistency” as key aspects of success on and off the field for several years. City have won 20 major trophies in the last 15 years, including a first Champions League triumph in our treble-winning 2022/23 campaign.
Under Guardiola, we have won 14 major honours, including five Premier League titles in six seasons and three top-flight wins in the last three campaigns.
“If you look at the last ten years, Manchester City have been on a journey to get to the top. I say at the top so as not to say that we are number one, but we are in the group of the best clubs in the world. We were already in this place before winning the Champions League but winning it is important and symbolic. The question is how we stay there. We will do it because we will continue working, we will not be complacent and we have a platform from where this is possible, ”he assured.
Soriano claimed that despite what many media say “we are not the ones that spent the most in the Premier League last year, or the last three years, or the last five. We have a very good platform, we know what we need, we take our time and we have developed enough intelligence. And if we don't like a deal, we walk away, we never panic."
The Catalan manager also explained that the key to success has been not deviating from the plan. “We make conscious decisions and we are constant and patient. As an example, we had two coaches in 10 years (Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola) and a Football Director (Txiki Begiristain). Part of success is being resilient, consistent, enduring challenges and not panicking when we lose."
“We've been doing this for the last ten years, so why can't we do it for another ten? That is our agenda, we will remain humble and we will work very hard and we will try to get the best talent in the industry to work for Manchester City”, he concluded.
