MANCHESTER CITY’S Middle Eastern owners are ready to spend more
than a billion dollars (£610m) on transfer fees and wage
commitments in their first year in control. The expenditure will be
the biggest one-year spend on new players by any sports club in the
world.
City are also prepared to saddle themselves with the largest
annual wage bill for a first-team squad in English football
history, reaching £120m-plus if they sign all their top targets
this summer.
The combined transfer fees of the 14 players signed by the
manager, Mark Hughes, since the Abu Dhabi United Group arrived at
Eastlands last summer, plus the potential outlay in wages over the
lengths of those players’ contracts, already amount to £455m. That
is certain to increase, perhaps by as much as £200m, within
weeks.
City’s chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, has said the club will buy
up to six players this summer. With Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz,
Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez signed, City’s wish list
comprises the defenders John Terry and Joleon Lescott. They could
cost between £20m and £40m each, plus £20m to £75m per man in wage
commitments. If City fail to sign them, other high-class players
will be considered.
City’s spending should comfortably outstrip the spree under way
at Real Madrid, which has included the capture of Cristiano Ronaldo
and Kaka. The Spanish giants are expected to spend about £500m
between this summer and next on players and wages. The previous
one-year spending record in English football was by Roman
Abramovich’s Chelsea in the Russian’s first year in charge between
July 2003 and June 2004.
The biggest wage bill recorded so far in English football was
Chelsea’s for 2007-08. The headline figure was £172m but after
deductions for managerial payoffs (£23m) and non-first-team staff
(about £30m), the first-team squad bill was £119m. City’s wage bill
is about £101m and can be expected to rise above £120m with more
expensive signings imminent.
1 Manchester City 08/08 to 07/09
Top three signings
Robinho fee £32.5m, wages £41.6m, total £74.1m
Carlos Tevez £25m, £39m, £64m
Roque Santa Cruz £17.5m, £20.8m, £38.3m
Spending so far £455m
Projected £600m-plus
2 Chelsea 07/03 to 06/04
Hernan Crespo £16.8m, £18.7m, £35.5m
Damien Duff £17m, £18.2m, £35.2m
Juan Veron £15m, £18.7m, £33.7m
Spending £400m
3 Real Madrid 06/09 to 05/10
Cristiano Ronaldo £80m, £110m, £190m
Kaka £56m, £60m, £116m
Karim Benzema £30m, £40m, £70m
Spending so far £376m
