MANCHESTER CITY have paved the way for an early summer spending spree by taking out a payday-style loan. City have borrowed an unspecified amount from Barclays and put up future payments of Premier League TV money as security. The champions did the same thing last summer ahead of breaking their transfer record to splash £60million […]
MANCHESTER CITY have paved the way for an early summer spending spree by taking out a payday-style loan.
City have borrowed an unspecified amount from Barclays and put up future payments of Premier League TV money as security.
The champions did the same thing last summer ahead of breaking their transfer record to splash £60million on Riyad Mahrez.
But the difference this time is that they have mortgaged the rest of the money they are due from the Premier League for last season, as well as next season’s payments. In addition, the deal was agreed on May 29 — a month earlier than last year.
This suggests Pep Guardiola wants as much money as possible, as early as possible, to revamp his domestic Treble-winning squad.
The deal also probably reflects City’s sensitivity to the row over Financial Fair Play and the current threat of a Champions League ban if they have broken Uefa rules.
It is only the second time since Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in August 2008 that the club has forward-funded TV money.
Many Premier League clubs use or have used “deeds of assignment” to receive their TV cash up front in order to fund transfer spending or even day-to-day running costs.
But City, backed by Mansour’s billions, did so for the first time in his reign only last year.
Taking loans from Barclays and lodging documents at Companies House is a transparent way for City to show they are using genuine income to fuel their success.
The Football Leaks group has claimed City previously topped up sponsor payments with huge sums direct from their owner — and then lied about it. The club denies the allegations.
