MANCHESTER, Jan 13 — Premier League champions Manchester City posted record revenues for the 2020-21 season, as they returned to profitability despite playing most of the campaign without fans in the stadium due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The club recorded total revenue of £569.8 million (RM3.2 billion) for the year ending June 30, the club said in an annual report published on Wednesday.

The figure beat the previous record of £535.2 million recorded in 2018-19, the last complete season before the pandemic struck.

It is the third time in five seasons they have broken the £500 million barrier, while they reported a profit of £2.4 million.

City won the league title and the Carabao Cup in 2020-21 while they also reached the Champions League final and the FA Cup semi-finals.

The club’s matchday income was down 98 per cent compared to the previous year but this was offset by revenue from other streams, driven by broadcast revenue which increased by 56 per cent on the year before to £297 million.

Commercial income was up 10 per cent to £271.7 million thanks to new partners such as Cadbury and AxiTrader.

"From a business perspective, we were pleased to return to profitability, having successfully navigated the revenue challenges created by the pandemic,” chief executive Ferran Soriano said.

"Covid-19 did not stop us, and we continued to grow, innovate and develop new ideas... We are hopeful that the pandemic-related challenges from the last two seasons will continue to subside.”

City reported a net loss of £126 million for the 2019-20 season after posting record profits of over £10 million in the previous year.

City lead the Premier League with 53 points after 21 games. They host second-placed Chelsea, who are 10 points behind, on Saturday. — Reuters