Source: Man_City
City's Champions League plan
| Submit Comments| Comments (95)| Printable Version1/1Play SlideshowClose MapPLENTY MORE WHERE THESE CAME FROM: Roberto Mancini with summer signings Aleksandar Kolarov, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Jerome BoatengManchester City could still finance another major spending spree without incurring the wrath of Uefa. But the Blues? strategy for meeting tough new financial stipulations hinges on them reaching the Champions League next season. The rest of football has looked on with disbelief, and a certain amount of relish, to news that City?s losses totalled £121million last year ? and that is before they spent big on transfer fees and wages for Yaya Toure, David Silva, Mario Balotelli, James Milner, Jerome Boateng and Aleksandar Kolarov. Uefa has brought in new rules aimed at stopping clubs from living beyond their means, or relying on rich sugar daddies to prop up their businesses. They dictate that clubs cannot lose more than £39m for three years from 2012, reducing to £26m for the following three years, and will eventually have to break even by only spending what the club earns. Any club which fails to reach the targets will be booted out of European competition, which would bring severe financial trauma in itself, as well as being a football disaster. But City were believed to have the second biggest wage bill in the world in 2008-09, after Chelsea, and will almost certainly over-take the Londoners? £149million bill when figures for last season and this season are released. The world of football finance has been agog with wonder and curiosity at how the Blues will pull a financial rabbit from a hat and start to balance the books. Spending The Blues have this week hinted at their vision for the next eight years, saying the player spending sprees are over, the academy will become central to their future, and Champions League football and their own commercial strategies will boost income to meet outgoings. But M.E.N. Sport contacted financial expert Kieron O?Connor, who has come up with a ten-point plan which he feels will see City safely through the financial minefield. And he feels that they could even get away with another round of big buys, as long as they shed unwanted players from the wage bill at the same time. O?Connor is a Swiss-based Arsenal fan whose football blog The Swiss Ramble (swissramble.blogspot.com) is essential reading for anyone interested in the game?s finances. And he stresses that the need to get into the Champions League is paramount ? hence manager Roberto Mancini?s decision to play a team of youngsters in the Carling Cup at West Brom, which upset many City fans who saw that competition as a good chance of winning a trophy. Said O?Connor: ?Qualifying for the Champions League is clearly a key element of City?s strategy, as it is for the other leading clubs. ?The amount of money received from Uefa would depend on how far City progressed, but to give you an idea of the size of the prize, last season Chelsea earned £28m for reaching the last 16, which would be a reasonable aspiration for City. ?Prize money will slightly increase this season, so this should be worth at least £30m in the future, while the team winning it would receive around £50m. ?On top of that, City would also benefit from higher gate receipts and success in the Champions League would trigger higher payments from sponsorship agreements.
