Manchester City will announce club record profits on Tuesday.
In an announcement that senior figures see as vindication of the strategy set out by the club’s Abu Dhabi owners following their 2008 takeover, City will reveal that they made £20.5m for the year 2015-16.
They will also disclose record revenues of £391.8m – leaving them second only in the Premier League to United.
However, unlike their cross-town rivals, who still owe £261m following the Glazer family takeover in 2005, City are debt free.