Man City reduce money backs up transfer points from the CEO
Ferran Soriano must have salivated over the commercial allure that Erling Haaland could bring to Manchester City, but he chose to focus on football in his documentary about the Norwegian.
“All signings are viewed through the lens of football, not marketing or celebrity,” he said. “Txiki [Begiristain, sporting director], Pep [Guardiola], and the entire group carefully consider the players they need before signing them,”
The same holds true for outgoings as it does for incomings. Joe Hart’s dismissal at the beginning of Guardiola’s tenure at Manchester City made him incredibly unpopular, while the decision to let Sergio Aguero depart on a free transfer in 2021 in order to acquire Haaland or Harry Kane was clinical.
Despite the fact that City’s top priority is their football team, they are also very concerned with their bottom line. Soriano and others talk up their finances whenever possible because, having been accused by UEFA of hiding equity as sponsorship without sufficient evidence and facing similarly grave charges from the Premier League, they feel they do not receive the credit they deserve for transforming the club into the sport’s largest revenue generator.
Investments in the academy and global recruiting have contributed to the organization’s success. Numerous players have been honed at the £200 million training facility or at a sibling club before being sold for a profit, typically with transfer clauses that generate additional revenue in the future.
After securing deals for James Trafford and Shea Charles, the Blues are on track to break the record for the most revenue generated from homegrown players in a single season with around £20 million required. These two initial fees are equivalent to what they paid for Mateo Kovacic, which will satisfy the chairman who wanted to discuss net spending in his postseason interview.
However, City are still first and foremost a football team, as decisions regarding two individuals in recent weeks have highlighted. If the Blues had given James McAtee, a 20-year-old midfielder with significant interest, more time, they would have already passed the academy threshold. Instead, McAtee is set to embark on a tour with the first team in an attempt to earn a spot in Guardiola’s roster for the upcoming season.
There was also money to be made on Callum Doyle, a 19-year-old centre-back, but Leicester ultimately preferred a loan and Doyle wanted to settle in well before the season began, so City accepted a transitory move for a player who could make the first team at the Etihad in the future. The player’s welfare trumped any desire to make money.
Clubs’ interest in Riyad Mahrez, Kyle Walker, and Bernardo Silva will test City and their first-team personnel further, but the same dictum will apply: if it doesn’t work from a footballing standpoint, it won’t happen.
Man City reduce money backs up transfer points from the CEO