Man City 115 charges bombshell: Premier League’s ‘Netflix’ deal scuppered
The uncertainty regarding Man City’s 115 verdict is causing all sorts of problems for the Premier League in the financial markets.
That is according to former Everton, Aston Villa and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, who exclusively told Football Insider that the Premier League may have trouble getting funding for potential projects due to the ongoing case.
It has now been over three years since Pep Guardiola’s side were charged by the English top-flight, with anticipation for a verdict high.
Keith Wyness: Premier League chiefs unsettled by uncertainty of Man City case
An independent commission hearing started in September 2024 regarding the issue and ended in December that same year, with the panel still considering its verdict.
Man City have been accused of allegedly breaching the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018, as well as allegedly concealing payments through third parties by disguising them as sponsorship revenue.
As a result, given the serious nature of the charges, the Premier League will be desperate to see the case come to a conclusion. Yet, as the 2025-26 campaign draws closer to its end, a verdict appears to be no closer.
🤬 “This is totally unacceptable” – Man City 115 charges update as Premier League title 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐓 emerges pic.twitter.com/sGo7WxY72o
— Football Insider (@footyinsider247) February 16, 2026
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness believes that the Premier League’s chiefs are facing a big problem being back financially for potential projects due to the uncertainty regarding the case.
He said: “It’s got to unsettle the senior management of the Premier League. Richard Masters
has had a very hard time inheriting this sort of issue and facing up to it.
“As I said, I don’t believe he’s had the proper support from his chairman, but that’s just another issue.
“But overall, it just is there. It’s that sort of big itch that you can’t scratch, and it won’t go away. And that’s the biggest problem of all, is that when you’re trying to look at forward projects and trying to plan ahead and forecast ahead, that’s always got to be in your thoughts as to what could happen.
“So it just leads to that real problem of uncertainty. The Premier League now in sports assets are in what they would call in an asset class of their own now. And so when the markets look at something like the Premier League as an asset.
🚨 Keith Wyness (Former football exec) on Man City’s 115 case.
— Matty (@Matt_yy7) February 18, 2026
◾️”I think they (legal teams) are still trying to find an elegant solution behind the scenes to save face for both sides (Manchester City & Premier League). I think that’s what’s trying to be done.”#MCFC #PL #UCL pic.twitter.com/UIS0h0GIyg
“Uncertainty is always the enemy of the financial markets, and so if there was to be something big like the Premier League going to do their own Netflix situation that would need some financial backing, then the Man City case would be pointed to as one area of uncertainty that would be a big problem about funding.
“So all these things whether they’re completely outside the 115 charges have to be taken into account and it’s something that has got to be resolved and we hope it’s sooner rather than later of course.”
Man City’s case continues to overshadow Premier League title race
Going into the latter half of the 2025-26 Premier League season, Man City could easily end up with another title.
Arsenal appear to be bottling their place at the summit, with yet another draw, with time against Wolves on Wednesday.
Therefore, Man City are in a prime position to take advantage and secure the Premier League title.
However, the 115 charges continue to overshadow this, with a verdict having the potential to come out at any time.