Manchester City have swept past Manchester United in the pay league for players, the club's annual report revealed.
The figures also show details of City's astonishing spending spree on players and salaries which have led to record losses of £121.3million. Although City's turnover increased by 40% to £125m this has been swamped by total salary costs of £133.3m, a £50m rise on a year ago.
That puts City - bankrolled by Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour - ahead of United, whose wage bill is £123m, and Arsenal (£110m) and closing in fast on Chelsea (£142m).
City chief executive Garry Cook said the losses "should come as no surprise" but that the club would now scale back on new signings.
He said: "It is safe to say that player acquisitions on the scale we have seen in recent transfer windows will no longer be required in the years ahead now that we have such a deep and competitive squad.
"In 2009-10, we narrowly fell short of our goals on the pitch, but still achieved nine club records including our best-ever result in the Premier League."
Cook said the squad was "in ideal shape" under Roberto Mancini's management.
The annual report also shows that the club's net spending on transfers has totalled a staggering £403m since 2008. City's net spending this summer was £96.6m - they actually spent around £126m but recouped £30m from the sale of Robinho and other players.
As of June 1 2009, £185.2m had been spent on transfers and this was followed by a further £145.4m in the following 12 months offset by sales totalling £24m.
The good news for City is that their turnover has also risen hugely, mainly due to a large increase in commercial income, from £87m to £125m.
Source: PA
