Revenues at Manchester City last season exceeded those of rivals Manchester United for the first time, according to newly published figures, underlining the impact of the pandemic but also the rise of a new power in English and European football.

Winning the Premier League title and reaching the final of the Uefa Champions League helped push City’s operating revenues to €644m in the 2020/21 season, up 17 per cent year on year, according to consultants at KPMG. The figure covers broadcast, match day and commercial income.

Manchester United, historically the league’s richest club by revenues, generated €557m in the same period, KPMG said in a report. The team, which has won the title a record 13 times, has failed to add to its tally since 2013, when manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

City’s rise has accelerated with the 2016 appointment of manager Pep Guardiola, who has led the team to three titles in five years, and comes after governing body Uefa estimated that European clubs would miss out on €9bn of revenues across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

City’s run to last season’s Champions League final led to income of €129.5m from Uefa, according to KPMG.

The pandemic has distorted the picture of football finances, while United may well reclaim its revenue supremacy this year now that games are being played in full-capacity stadiums.

The KPMG Football Benchmark, which did not disclose figures for City’s staff costs, profit or loss, offers a preview of the club’s finances ahead of the publication of its accounts in the coming days, according to a person close to the club. KPMG said the figures were confirmed by Manchester City. New York-listed Manchester United’s accounts for the 12 months ended June 30 were published last year.

Overall, City’s broadcast revenues rose 55 per cent to €335.5m, according to KPMG, though the figure was inflated because some games were moved into 2020/21 from the previous season.

The recovery in broadcast income helped to offset a near total loss of match day revenues as games were played largely in empty stadiums because of the pandemic. United suffers disproportionately because its stadium holds roughly 20,000 more people than City’s 55,000-capacity ground.

City’s commercial revenues increased 8 per cent to €307.9m. The club, owned since 2008 by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the billionaire member of the Abu Dhabi royal family has a range of partnerships with Abu-Dhabi-based companies, including a deal signed last week with renewable energy group Masdar. Other partners include Etihad Airlines, telecoms company Etisalat and German sportswear group Puma.

United’s commercial revenues fell almost 17 per cent year on year to £232.2m in the 12 months to June, with some sponsors deferring payments because of Covid. The team has, however, signed up technology company TeamViewer as its main shirt sponsor and renewed a number of deals.

United pointed to the “strength and resilience” of the club through the pandemic, “despite the significant loss of revenues from normal levels while matches were played behind closed doors”.

The KPMG report analysed the finances of eight league title-holders in Europe.

City declined to comment.

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