MANCHESTER, Oct 2 Manchester City's spending spree on players and salaries have led to record losses of £121.3 million ($191.9 million), the club's annual report revealed on Friday.

Although City's turnover increased by 40 per cent to £125 million, this has been swamped by salary costs of 133.3 million, a 50 million rise on a year ago.

That puts City — bankrolled by Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour — behind Chelsea, whose wage bill is £142 million, but ahead of Manchester United (123m) and Arsenal (110m).

City chief executive Garry Cook said the losses “should come as no surprise” but that the club would now scale back on new signings.

He said “It is safe to say that player acquisitions on the scale we have seen in recent transfer windows will no longer be required in the years ahead now that we have such a deep and competitive squad.

“In 2009-10, we narrowly fell short of our goals on the pitch, but still achieved nine club records including our best-ever result in the Premier League.”

The report also shows that the club's net spending on transfers has totalled £403 million since 2008.

City's net spending this summer was £96.6 million — they actually spent around £126 million but recouped £30 million from the sale of Robinho and other players.—AFP