Manchester City 'not worried' over FFP

On the pitch, City have been catapulted to the top of the English game as a result of the huge investment of Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour.

Their challenge is now to maintain their position and make an impact in the Champions League but, in an era of Financial Fair Play (FFP), to do that they will need to boost revenue.

Work on this front has been ongoing for some time with the club's commercial operation having been transformed in recent times.

Soriano, who oversaw big commercial growth while in a similarly senior role at Barcelona, has no doubt this will continue and City's income will rival that of neighbours Manchester United in time.

Soriano, who was appointed last August, said: "We are catching up very fast.

"In the last few months we have totally changed the commercial organisation.

"We have an office in London now and we are very successful.

"It's fair to say United have been very successful in the past but we are catching up, and I am very self-confident.

"When I started in another club in 2003 our revenue was 123million euros and United was 251million.

"After three years our revenue was higher than United.

"So we are second to none, our revenues will increase and we are not worried about FFP at all.

"We will compete with United and others in the market commercially. We are successful."

Barcelona did have the advantage of being regarded as one of Europe's glamour clubs, whereas City have been trying to reverse decades of underachievement, but Soriano is unperturbed.

He said: "We have humility, we are humble, we will take our time.

"But look at the record - already City are number seven in the rankings.

"I'm using the example of Barcelona not because it was the best in the world but because I was there so I can talk about this.

"When we started in 2003 we were number 13 in the revenue ranking.

"We hadn't won a trophy in four years and our biggest star was an Argentinian player by the name of Javier Saviola.

"Starting from that standpoint, three years later we were number two. So certainly it can be done."

To achieve their overall goals, City need their commercial success to be mirrored by the team.

In the hope of establishing a long-term and sustainable presence at the top of the game, City are implementing a new playing structure under director of football Txiki Begiristain.

Soriano said: "In general terms I think we are a club that has been transformed and is on the verge of changing dramatically, so we need to do a lot of things, and do them fast.

"Doing lots of things fast means we're working in a changing environment, sometimes a chaotic environment, so we'll make some mistakes, there will be trials and errors.

"But overall we're in a good place."