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Manchester City ready to become kings of Europe this season, according to chairman
MANCHESTER CITY chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak says the club is entering a “critical new phase” in its bid to becoming kings of Europe.
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City have posted record profits of £20.5million - despite breaking their transfer record last year - and coupled with the arrival of Pep Guardiola as manager, Khaldoon says they are ready to take the next step and realise their long-held ambition of winning the Champions League.
He said: “City has now reached a level of sporting and commercial maturity that allows one to feed the other.
"I believe the 2016-17 season represents the beginning of a critical new phase in the evolution of the club.
“We know that we have the playing, coaching and off-field capabilities at our disposal to achieve great things in English and European football in the years ahead.”
In an astonishing turnaround, City have gone from making £98m losses in 2011-12 to profitability in the last two years.
They are no longer reliant on their Abu Dhabi billionaire owner Sheik Mansour and, significantly, they have managed to reduce the ratio of wages-to-turnover to 50 per cent.
Pep Guardiola spent £170m this summer
The record profit comes despite their £150m-plus transfer spending in 2015 which included a club record fee of £54m for Kevin De Bruyne, as well as massive deals for Raheem Sterling (£49m) and Nicolas Otamendi (£30m).
The figures however do not include this summer’s £170m spending under Guardiola.
Key to the financial turnaround has been the staggering growth of the club's commercial revenue – from £61.8m 10 years ago to £391.8m in the latest accounts.
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