Under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi United Group, the club has seen its fortunes change dramatically as it finished fifth in the Premier League and narrowly missed out on the Champions League. The result marked its highest ever finish since the Premier League era began.

The club’s commercial revenues more than doubled to $74.8m in 2009/2010, pushing the club’s overall revenue growth. Last season was also the first year of improved shirt and kit sponsorship deals with Etihad and Umbro respectively. The new Umbro deal facilitated merchandising revenue growth of 60 percent to $12.6m.

In addition, the club signed sponsorship deals with Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Etisalat and Aabar, all UAE based companies. Further growth is anticipated in this area, with Heineken and Jaguar lined up as potential partners.

Matchday revenue also grew to $39.0m despite the club missing out on European qualification. However, the reduction of European matches was partially offset by successful and lucrative domestic cup campaigns, including the semi final of the League Cup and the fifth round of the FA Cup. An increased average league home match attendances to 45,512 also helped drive matchday revenue.

The club’s improved performance in the Premier League and an increase in the number of live televised games also pushed broadcasting revenue up to $86.5m, despite the lack of European broadcast revenue. Premier League central distributions for the year were $79.4m.

Despite Manchester City’s success off the pitch, taking the next step and breaking into the top ten is dependent on the playing staff challenging for both domestic and European honours, with qualification for the Champions League a priority.