Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has insisted the Blues have reached the pinnacle of European football without “doing anything out of the ordinary.”
On a day when the Treble winners announced a bumper new sleeve sponsorship deal with cryptocurrency exchange company OKX, they found themselves under more scrutiny over the 115 charges laid by the Premier League over alleged financial misconduct.
A leaked UEFA report claims City were paid £30million by a mystery figure from the United Arab Emirates in two instalments over a decade ago to circumvent FFP regulations. But while Soriano did not address the ongoing legal fight with the Premier League, he did confirm that City generated revenues in excess of £700 million on their way to lifting the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup last season.
And he revealed the secret of their success is the genius of Pep Guardiola - and the long-term plan he put in place in 2012.
Soriano said: “It’s about hard work - we haven't done anything that was out of the ordinary.
“We now know that this year our revenues are going to be above £700million. This is the British record - and we are probably No.1 in Europe and also the world.
“This has happened over the last decade - and it’s based on the football we play. We have a good football club, we play very good football - and we win.
"That helps us sell more merchandise. Our sales last season were 80 percent more than the previous season. We thought that was spectacular. But guess what? In the first few weeks ahead of the coming season, we are selling 80 percent more merchandise again. These are real numbers.
“Four days after winning the Champions League, our sales were as high as what we usually sell in a month. This comes with winning and playing good football.
“It’s natural that more people want to watch our games, more people want to buy our merchandise, more companies want to sponsor us.”
City banked £15million-a-year when OKX became their training kit sponsors last year. The new agreement will also see the company’s name featured on the shirts of both the men’s and women’s teams.
The deal was sealed less than three weeks after City completed the treble by lifting the Champions League for the first time.
Soriano said: “I haven't seen anybody be successful without working very hard.
“Pep Guardiola is a genius who is so creative and smart in the way he manages the team. But I can assure you he comes to the office very early in the morning and leaves very late.
“We're in a group of very big teams before winning the Champions League.
“But winning the Champions League is symbolic. Now the question is how do we stay there - but we will.
“We will continue to work, we will not be complacent, and we are on a platform where this is possible. We are in a stable position at the top of the industry and that’s where we need to stay.
“We've done this in the last 10 years, so why can't we do it in the next 10?”
