'Nonsense!' - Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher CALLS OUT Man City over record profit claims

The ongoing trial of Manchester City for 115 charges of alleged financial breaches will be a rubicon for English football.

Understandably, debate on the topic can be intense, emotional and occasionally ill-informed, with the actual facts of the situation unknown until a verdict is reached. We are expected to get answers sometime next year, and until then all we can do is try and educate ourselves the best way we can.

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Jamie Carragher gives his verdict

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher made his opinion heard on this week’s version of the Fan Debate on The Overlap. Discussing the situation with a Manchester City fan who raised the point that City are and have been one of the most profitable institutions in the sporting world for years now - particularly due to their on-pitch success - Carragher hit back:

“But the idea, when I see teams who bring the most money in, and I see Man City above Real Madrid and Barcelona, Man United, that is just nonsense. I don’t care how successful you are that can’t happen, it’s impossible.” 

When the fan raised the point that City have won a treble, Carragher quipped, “Real Madrid win the Champions League every year, how can you be above Real Madrid?”

How much do teams earn?

Unsurprisingly, Carragher makes a good point. Whilst City’s success is well-established, they are not the only team in the world to be consistently winning trophies and competing both domestically and in Europe. The Premier League is the highest revenue-generating football league in the world, but the additional £62.3m that the winners receive isn’t too far off from La Liga’s €53.3m winners bonus, and Real Madrid haven’t been shy of success in this regard.

This is before the between €20-25m clubs get for winning the Champions League (which fluctuates with revenue every season), of which Madrid have taken home six since Manchester City’s takeover. In fact, Liverpool have the same number of Champions League successes as City in that time, whilst Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Barcelona have more. 

Manchester, England, 19th May 2024. Josep Guardiola coach of Manchester City during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Picture credit should read: Andrew Yates / Sportimage EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or live services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. SPI-3159-0144

Additionally, Liverpool have played more Champions League finals in that time than City too, whilst Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and Juventus join City on two appearances.

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The Deloitte Football Money League, that tracks clubs revenue year-on-year, has Manchester City second in 2022-23 only to Real Madrid. City haven’t placed outside the top two of this list since 2019-20, with revenues rising year-on-year.

The point the Liverpool legend was making is that there are a myriad of other clubs in Europe who have deeper histories, a longer period of marketing and an established base - as well as on-pitch success - that are not seeing the same rise in revenue that Manchester City have.

This point is at the heart of the ongoing trial, with some of the allegations being that City inflated sponsorship deals in order to fund transfers and wages for some of their world-beating squads. 

We will have to wait and see what the verdict of the trial is, but with Everton recieving an initial 10-point deduction for a single breach last season, the ramifications loom large.

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