Manchester City
2026/27 spending-room estimate
Season view
ProjectionSquad-cost basis2026/27 — Premier League SCR projection. This is the live view used across the rest of this page. What does this mean?
Forward-looking squad-cost estimate for 2026/27, built from public filings, reported transfer data, provider wage estimates and PSRwatch assumptions. Subject to transfer, wage, revenue and rule changes. These are unofficial PSRwatch estimates — final regulatory decisions sit with the leagues. Methodology
PSRwatch estimates Manchester City's 2026/27 squad-cost ratio at 86% of football income — above the 85% Green Threshold but inside the 115% Red Threshold — the levy / allowance zone. That leaves roughly £235m of annual squad-cost room before the 115% Red Threshold. Estimates updated 21 Jul, 15:38; accounts last synced 18 Jul, 22:34. These are independent PSRwatch estimates, not official Premier League calculations.
Today's read
Manchester City are estimated to be above the 85% Green Threshold but inside the 115% Red Threshold — the levy / allowance zone.
They have around £235m of room before the 115% Red Threshold, with an SCR estimate of 86% against the 115% Red Threshold (the 85% Green Threshold is the secondary levy line).
They are above the 85% Green Threshold but inside the 115% Red Threshold, so the exposure is a levy / allowance charge on around £6m of overspend — a fine, not a points deduction.
Confirmed transfers this summer have reduced remaining room by about £43m (+5.3 percentage points).
The old-PSR model is not expected to be the biggest issue in the 2023/24-2025/26 closeout window.
Room to the Red Threshold
Annual squad-cost room before the 115% Red Threshold — the primary line where sporting-sanction (points) risk starts.
The 115% Red Threshold is the primary sporting-sanction line. The 85% Green Threshold is the secondary levy / allowance line.
Room before the 85% Green Threshold, above which a levy / allowance charge (not a points deduction) applies to overspend.
Levy on overspend above the 85% Green Threshold — a fine, not a points deduction.
Transfer effect
This table translates confirmed transfer activity into spending-room impact. A transfer fee is normally spread across the player's contract as an annual transfer-fee cost. Wages, signing fees, agent fees, loans and sales then change the live squad-cost position.
| Player / item | Move | From / To | Fee | Contract | Annual transfer-fee costi | Book profit/loss | SCR movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliot Anderson | In | Nottingham Forest | £113m | 4 yrs | £30m | £0m | +6.0pp |
| Jeremy Monga | In | Leicester City | £10m | 4 yrs | £3m | £0m | +1.2pp |
| Manuel Akanji | Out | Inter Milan | £13m | Sale/no fee spread | £0m | £8m | -0.9pp |
| Mathys Detourbet | In | ESTAC Troyes | £21m | 4 yrs | £6m | £0m | +1.7pp |
| Mathys Detourbet | Loan out | AS Monaco | £0m | 1 yrs | £0m | £0m | -1.0pp |
| Nathan Aké | Out | Fenerbahce | £7m | Sale/no fee spread | £0m | £4m | -0.8pp |
| Pierce Charles | In | Sheffield Wednesday | £3m | 4 yrs | £1m | £0m | +0.8pp |
| Pierce Charles | Loan out | Queens Park Rangers | £0m | 1 yrs | £0m | £0m | -0.8pp |
| Sverre Nypan | Loan out | Lommel SK | £0m | 1 yrs | £0m | £0m | -0.9pp |
Football income
The SCR estimate depends on football income, so PSRwatch starts from the latest filed accounts and then estimates the 2026/27 income base.
2024/25
£754m low / £850m high
Built from filed accounts or reported sale fees only — undisclosed-fee estimates never count as income.
Latest filed revenue baseline: 2024/25.
Central forecast starts from the committed club forecast and splits football income using a league-typical modelled mix (about 18% matchday / 47% broadcasting in the Premier League) — the club's own filed mix will be used once its accounts disclose one.
Premier League participation is included in the broadcasting and commercial mix.
UEFA participation adds a separate revenue line and UEFA SCR exposure.
Low/high range is a deterministic +/-6% sensitivity around central football income.
Forecast income already clears the applicable Premier League floors (income >= GBP 175m, broadcasting >= GBP 95m), so no uplift was needed.
Squad-cost breakdown
Squad cost combines the club's accounts wage bill (all staff — a conservative stand-in for the League's player-and-coach definition), annual transfer-fee costs and estimated agent, signing, loan and bonus costs, compared with football income to give the SCR estimate.
From the club's filed accounts: total staff costs including non-playing staff, bonuses and employer NI. The League's squad-cost test counts player and head-coach pay, so this numerator errs conservative.
Spending beyond 85% of football income attracts a financial levy on the overspend.
Old PSR: 2023/24-2025/26
Old PSR is the old three-year loss-based framework. It remains relevant for historic assessment and final closeout, but it is no longer the main live view for 2026/27 squad-building. Figures here are a PSRwatch model from filed accounts and public data — official PSR calculations can include private and regulatory adjustments that are not public.
Baseline allowance — no secure owner equity is verified for this window, so the headline uses the base allowance only, never an assumed £105m. Funding evidence pending; the max-funded figure below is a scenario only. Old PSR allows higher losses only where secure funding/equity is evidenced. This is not an official Premier League finding.
2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26
GBP 5m per known PL/EFL season.
Eligible £0m (loans excluded); cap £90m.
Baseline basis. Before undisclosed/private adjustments.
Room on the £15m base allowance only.
Base + verified owner equity. Unavailable without verified funding.
Room if fully owner-funded to £105m — a scenario, not the headline.
League mix drives PL/EFL loss cap.
UEFA rules
UEFA rules are shown separately because clubs in European competition may face a stricter squad-cost threshold than the Premier League.
70% threshold
Room (£126m)
Owner funding
Owner funding can affect financial resilience and, under the old PSR framework, support permitted losses. It does not automatically create new squad-cost room under the revenue-linked SCR model.
2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26
Cycle cap £90m.
Can support the old funded loss allowance.
SCR is revenue-linked, so owner funding is not automatic capacity.
Player ledger
Player-level squad-cost model from contract, wage and player-registration cost data.
Per-player wages are estimated gross fixed salaries from public sources. They sum well below the accounts wage bill used in the squad-cost estimate above, because that bill also covers bonuses, employer NI and non-playing staff.
| Player | Position | Contract end | Capitalised cost | Wage estimate | Annual transfer-fee costi | Annual squad cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gianluigi Donnarumma | Goalkeeper | 2030-06-30 | £1m | £14m | £6m | £20m |
| James Trafford | Goalkeeper | 2030-06-30 | £0m | £4m | £3m | £7m |
| Marcus Bettinelli | Goalkeeper | 2027-06-30 | £0m | £2m | £0m | £2m |
| Marc Guéhi | Centre-Back | 2031-06-30 | £1m | £13m | £10m | £23m |
| Josko Gvardiol | Centre-Back | 2028-06-30 | £1m | £10m | £10m | £20m |
| Rúben Dias | Centre-Back | 2029-06-30 | £1m | £13m | £8m | £21m |
| Abdukodir Khusanov | Centre-Back | 2029-06-30 | £1m | £3m | £7m | £9m |
| Vitor Reis | Centre-Back | 2029-06-30 | £0m | £2m | £4m | £6m |
| Juma Bah | Centre-Back | 2031-06-30 | £0m | £6m | £1m | £8m |
| Max Alleyne | Centre-Back | 2030-06-30 | £0m | £0m | £1m | £1m |
| Nico O'Reilly | Left-Back | 2030-06-30 | £1m | £2m | £10m | £11m |
| Rayan Aït-Nouri | Left-Back | 2030-06-30 | £1m | £6m | £5m | £12m |
| Josh Wilson-Esbrand | Left-Back | 2027-06-30 | £0m | £0m | £0m | £1m |
| Matheus Nunes | Right-Back | 2028-06-30 | £1m | £7m | £7m | £14m |
| Rico Lewis | Right-Back | 2030-06-30 | £0m | £1m | £4m | £5m |
| Issa Kaboré | Right-Back | 2027-06-30 | £0m | £1m | £1m | £2m |
| Rodri | Defensive Midfield | 2027-06-30 | £1m | £11m | £7m | £18m |
| Nico González | Defensive Midfield | 2029-06-30 | £1m | £9m | £5m | £15m |
| Kalvin Phillips | Defensive Midfield | 2028-06-30 | £0m | £8m | £0m | £8m |
| Elliot Anderson | Central Midfield | 2032-06-30 | £114m | £13m | £10m | £23m |
| Tijjani Reijnders | Central Midfield | 2030-06-30 | £1m | £12m | £7m | £19m |
| Mateo Kovacic | Central Midfield | 2027-06-30 | £0m | £8m | £1m | £9m |
| Rayan Cherki | Attacking Midfield | 2030-06-30 | £1m | £9m | £12m | £22m |
| Phil Foden | Attacking Midfield | 2027-06-30 | £1m | £12m | £10m | £21m |
| Claudio Echeverri | Attacking Midfield | 2028-06-30 | £0m | £1m | £2m | £3m |
| Jérémy Doku | Left Winger | 2028-06-30 | £1m | £3m | £10m | £13m |
| Savinho | Left Winger | 2031-06-30 | £0m | £4m | £5m | £9m |
| Jack Grealish | Left Winger | 2027-06-30 | £0m | £16m | £3m | £18m |
| Jeremy Monga | Left Winger | 2031-06-30 | £10m | £8m | £2m | £10m |
| Antoine Semenyo | Right Winger | 2031-06-30 | £1m | £8m | £11m | £19m |
| Erling Haaland | Centre-Forward | 2034-06-30 | £3m | £27m | £27m | £55m |
| Omar Marmoush | Centre-Forward | 2029-06-30 | £1m | £15m | £7m | £22m |
| Mathys Detourbet | SEN | 2030-06-30 | £22m | £9m | £6m | £14m |
| Pierce Charles | SEN | 2030-06-30 | £3m | £5m | £1m | £6m |
Methodology and sources
Premier League SCR is estimated as squad costs divided by football income. Spending between 85% and 115% of football income attracts a financial levy on the overspend; crossing 115% brings a fixed 6-point deduction plus 1 further point per GBP 6.5m spent beyond the 115% capacity.
Squad costs use the club's accounts wage bill (all staff — conservative vs the League's player-and-coach definition), annual transfer-fee cost, and estimated agent, signing, loan and bonus costs.
Transfer fees are spread across contract life. Sales compare proceeds with remaining book value to estimate book profit or loss.
Revenue forecasts start from the latest filed accounts and committed club forecast, then split 2026/27 football income into matchday, broadcasting, commercial, UEFA and player-trading lines.
Old PSR is retained only as a 2023/24-2025/26 closeout layer. Owner funding can support the old loss allowance when available and capped, but it does not create new SCR revenue capacity.
Each public snapshot is generated from PSRwatch-owned JSON files after validation, with the last good snapshot kept if an upstream refresh fails.
Manchester City latest accounts extract (2024/25) - Accounts values are parsed from Companies House filings where available, then normalised into the committed full dataset.
PSRwatch 2026/27 squad-cost forecast - Forecast uses committed income, wage, annual transfer-fee cost and transfer assumptions with deterministic rule calculations.
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