MANCHESTER: Manchester City have released their 2020-21 annual report, announcing a return to profitability and the long-term trend of steady growth that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The club saw an increase in total revenues, increasing by 19 percent to $780 million, with a profit of $3.3 million. It was another successful year for Manchester City on the field, with the men’s team breaking several records, finishing the season with the Premier League title, winning the Carabao Cup and securing a place in the UEFA Champions League Final for the very first time in the club’s history. “The success of our men’s first team — this year’s trophies represent our fifth Premier League title and sixth League Cup of the last decade — is our story today,” Chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak said in the report. “Our story tomorrow will be written by the next generation, who made history this year when the EDS and U18 teams won their respective leagues, meaning Manchester City hold the titles at all three levels of the men’s game.” Al-Mubarak highlighted Manchester City’s positive financial performance over the past season, attributing the return of profitability to the impact of the club’s long-term strategy to diversify and globalize revenues, the team’s results and the support of partners and shareholders. “His Highness Sheikh Mansour’s vision, set in 2008, is the reality we are living 13 years later,” he said. “We are a sustainable and socially responsible organization, finding and developing talent and competing for trophies on both the domestic and European stage.” CEO Ferran Soriano pointed to the character of the men’s first team following a challenging start to the season, which saw the team sitting in 13th position in late November 2020. He said: “You could sense the focus and the resolve of the team and the togetherness of the whole club. It was by harnessing that togetherness, that the team pulled themselves up from that point and went on to have one of the best seasons in Manchester City’s history. “From a business perspective, we were pleased to return to profitability, having successfully navigated the revenue challenges created by the pandemic. COVID-19 did not stop us, and we continued to grow, innovate and develop new ideas.” The chairman concluded with his thoughts on the Champions League Final, and said: “(Although) the disappointment of the defeat in the final in Porto ran undeniably deep, we were incredibly proud to have reached it in the first place. “We look ahead with the knowledge that we are going to come back stronger and more experienced, knowing that we have reached not only that benchmark, but also a level of consistency which gives us great confidence for the future.”