Man City eyeing £600m sponsorship deal after reaching Premier League settlement
Man City’s settlement agreement with the Premier League has opened the door for the club to agree a sizeable new sponsorship deal.
That is according to football finance expert Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that the length of the deal would play a significant factor in how much it would ultimately be worth.
Over the past year, Man City have been battling over associated party transactions rules (APT).
The Premier League blocked a deal between the club and the state-owned Abu Dhabi airline Etihad in 2023 as it was deemed not to be of fair market value under APT rules.
However, Man City have now reached a settlement agreement with the Premier League, opening the door for the deal to be revived, and the agreement could be significantly more valuable than the previous one between the two parties that first came into effect in 2011.
Man City can agree new sponsor deal worth £60m per season
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley explained that whilst the previous deal was worth £400m, Man City‘s commercial and footballing success meant that a new deal would be worth significantly more.
He said: “You would anticipate it’s going to be higher than the previous figure of £400m, and I think this is where it gets really interesting.
“Obviously that settlement that’s been done there, where City have ultimately won a couple of points earlier on in that, and with the rules as they are, then coming to a settlement would suggest that they’ve met in the middle somewhere.
“That then opens the door for City to go out and sign a new deal here.
“So, if that is to be the case, again, fair market value still will come into it but it’s going to be higher all ends up than the previous deal.
“And if they signed another 10-year deal, therefore, the total amount of the deal might be over 400 million, we could be into that territory.
“I would anticipate a little bit of an uplift on that, and I think, conceivably, you could get to £50m [a year] quite easily, perhaps even £60m.”
Man City await 115 charges decision
Whilst the Premier League and the Sky Blues have resolved one legal battle, there still remains the issue of the 115 charges levied against Man City.
Those charges were dealt in February 2023, but there has been no resolution yet.
An independent commission began in September 2024 and ended in December, but the panel that conducted a review of the case has not reached a decision on the final outcome of the charges.