Manchester City have been reliant on entities based in owner Sheik Mansour's home country of the UAE for sponsorship deals that have allowed them to outspend most of their rivals on transfer fees and wages in the past decade. At the start of the 2020-21 season they had a squad that had cost €1.063billion (£974million) in transfer fees — the most expensive in global football. Sheikh Mansour's Manchester City are being investigated for breaching financial rulesThe Mail on Sunday looks at how City have managed to earn £600m more than their rivalsIn the 10 years to the end of 2020, City earned £1.7bn in commercial income. In the same period, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal averaged £1.1bn each, meaning City earned £600m more from commercial deals than those other clubs of similar size and status. The difference with City's commercial earnings is that — unlike any of the other three — they are hugely reliant on sponsors in one territory, the UAE.

Source: Daily Mail July 24, 2021 21:33 UTC