14 Apr 2009City losses trebled under Shinawatra

Football Clubs News | Football Finance News

Manchester City saw their losses triple during Thaksin Shinawatra's stint as owner of the club, new figures revealed last week.

Group accounts show that parent company Manchester City Ltd recorded a pre-tax loss of £32.6 million in the 2007-08 season, compared to £11 million for the previous campaign.

This figure can be largely explained by a £50.6 million outlay on players during the early part of the season under the stewardship of former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.

However, the accounts also revealed that City's turnover increased by 31 per cent to £82.3 million on the back of the new Premier League television rights deal, which boosted media revenues from £24.2 million to £43.3 million.

The losses are unlikely to cause much concern for supporters as the club is now owned by the mega-rich Abu Dhabi United Group, which bought out Shinawatra last September for £210 million.

City will look to overcome a 3-1 deficit when they take on Hamburg this week in their Uefa Cup quarter-final second-leg clash at Eastlands.

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