Kieran Maguire: Man City have ‘dropped the ball’ amid alleged £1.1bn fraud
Man City have dropped the ball and are now dealing with the consequences of their aborted deal with 3Key.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about City’s short-lived partnership with the mysterious cryptocurrency provider.
City signed with 3Key in November last year but scrapped the deal just three months down the line amid questions about the firm’s legitimacy.
Investigative journalist Martin Calladine reported on Thursday (2 June) that 3Key have now been linked with £1.1billion fraud case in Croatia.
Maguire assessed the PR backlash that has stemmed from the star-crossed deal with the phantom crypto brokers.
“They did nip this in the bud reasonably quickly,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“But the fact that it got as far as it did does not reflect well on City. As a club, they are well aware of the degree of scrutiny they are under. They did drop the ball with this one.
“You don’t know in advance about somebody that is involved in a fraud. It wouldn’t have got as far as it had done if they’d known about it.
“But it is certainly further indication that getting into partnerships with these companies is fraught with danger.”
City earned £217m in commercial income in the last financial year on record, with a large chunk of that figure coming from sponsorship.
They have 32 global and 13 local sponsorship deals.
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