INTERNATIONAL: 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 present in stadiums due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The club said in an annual report published on Wednesday that they recorded a total revenue of up to 570 million pounds, worth $780 million dollars for the year ending June 30.

The figure beat the previous record of 535 million pounds recorded in 2018-19, the last complete season before the pandemic struck.

It is the third time in five seasons Manchester City has broken the 500-million-pound barrier, while they also reported a profit of 2.4 million pounds.

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

The club's matchday income was down 98% compared to the previous year, but was offset by revenue from other streams, particularly driven by broadcast revenue, which increased by 56% from the year before to 297 million pounds.

Commercial income was up 10% to 270 million pounds thanks to new partners such as Cadbury and AxiTrader.

Chief Executive Officer, Ferran Soriano, has said that, "From a business perspective, they were pleased to return to profitability, having successfully navigated the revenue challenges created by the pandemic."

He further added, "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 pounds for the 2019-20 season after posting record profits of over 10 million pounds 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.