It is likely that in 2013 UEFA will implement a new set of fair play rules. UEFA will stipulate clubs to be more self-sufficient. The result will be that clubs with the largest revenues will be able to spend the most money. This has been seen, in many ways, as a fair system and will prevent rich owners from dramatically changing the face of a domestic football league.

This has been seen in England in the last ten years with the extravagant spending by Chelsea and Manchester City. Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour are among the richest men in the world and have had a dramatic effect on English football.

What I want to look at here is the revenue stream of Manchester City. Why is revenue important? It is that figure that will dictate how much money clubs will be able to spend in the future.

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Manchester City now sit at 11thin the Deloitte Money League, where as in 2005 they did not feature in the top 20. Manchester City may have spent as a vast amount of money in the last few years but the revenue of the club has grown in this time. One reason for this is their massive increase in commercial revenue.

When comparing the data of commercial revenue from 2005 and 2010, you will notice that Manchester City have overtaken a hugely successful club; Arsenal.

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The commercial revenue of Manchester City has more than doubled in the last year. Firstly, since their take-over, Manchester City have established many new links with businesses in the Middle East. But secondly, like Real Madrid, their profile has also been increased by some serious spending on players. What this shows is that, although Man City may be currently spending much, much more than they make, their revenue is increasing as a result of their increased spending.

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This growth in revenue is not restricted to commercial deals alone. Manchester City’s match-day revenue has also flourished in the last year. The average home attendance in 2010 was 6% larger than it was in 2009. This is no doubt, in part, due to big name signings. Emmanuel Adebayor, Yaya Toure, James Milner, David Silva, Carlos Tevez, Joleon Lescott, Mario Ballotelli and Edin Dzeko have all played for Manchester city in 2010, and cost over £20m.

Manchester City have increased their total revenue by 50% in the last year, despite playing in the second tiered European competition. Champions League football would see Manchester City increase their revenue on match-days (there would be more home games and more sell-out games) as well as give them a huge boost in broadcasting rights and commercial deals.

Furthermore, in Eastlands, they have a more recently developed stadium .This could play a huge role in Manchester City attaining self-sufficiency.

This task would be large, but not and while it might not be foreseeable within the next five years, it could be realised eventually. This may hinge, most importantly, on Champions League qualification as well as success in other competitions over the next five seasons.

The biggest worry for a club like Manchester City will be that the FIFA rules will require a club to become ‘self-sufficient’. This will mean that Manchester City will either have to dramatically increase their current revenue or reduce their current costs. But until the new sanctions take place Manchester City’s spending will spending will create an increase in the club’s total revenue. City still have an awful lot to do before they will be self-sufficient but they are moving in the right direction

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