Manchester City may or may not have broken the British transfer record to prise Elliot Anderson away from Nottingham Forest – there are still conflicting accounts over the fee.
But whether the money transferred between the two clubs’ bank accounts is £116m or £130m, the true ultimate cost to Manchester City, who are entering the post-Pep Guardiola era, will be far more.
Anderson has stood out at this summer’s World Cup so far for England, who have been unspectacular in topping group L. They face DR Congo in the first knockout on Wednesday in Atlanta, Georgia.
The 23-year-old, who is just 12 appearances into his international career, will earn in the region of £300,000 per week at the Etihad Stadium under the terms of a five-year deal which includes an option to extend for another 12 months.
That equates to £15.6m per year, or £78m over the course of the contract. Employer National Insurance meanwhile is 15 per cent, taking the total cost to Manchester City to just shy of £90m.
Add in an agent fee of around 10 per cent and the four per cent levy the Premier League places on transfers between top-flight clubs and the cost of the deal to City will exceed £220m.
Speaking exclusively to HITC, Professor Kieran Maguire, who lectures in football finance at University of Liverpool, explained why clubs look at blue-chip transfers like Anderson’s move to City in terms of the total committed financial package, not just the headline fee.
“You have got to look at deals like this holistically,” said the Price of Football podcast host and author.
“You also have to look at it in terms of marginal revenue. Bernardo Silva has gone, so you’ve just knocked £10m off your wage bill. If they are using the exit door at the same time as they are making new signings, they are neutral from a net perspective. You can recruit as many players as you want, but you always have to have 11 on the pitch, so that’s why they look at it through this lens.
“Qualifying for the Champions League is, for a club of Man City’s calibre and UEFA coefficient, is worth a minimum of £50m annually. They need high quality players to qualify and generate that £50m. If they do well in the competition, that £50m very quickly becomes £100m. That’s just your prize money, before you even get to matchday income.
“Historically, City have been very good at selling, too. They have made hundreds of millions from the academy. Only about 50 per cent of big transfers work, so there are no guarantees that a £116m transfer works. That means you have to look at the overall picture in terms of sales, as well.”
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