Kieran Maguire: Man City a force to be reckoned with as potential legal battle looms
Man City will be optimistic that they can overturn the Premier League’s recent ruling on related party sponsorship deals.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about a potential legal challenge to the top-flight’s edict.
Premier League clubs voted en masse to rewrite the rulebook over related party commercial deals, with City and Newcastle United the only dissenters.
The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday (14 December) that both clubs are now considering taking the Premier League to court.
The measures require clubs to submit new sponsorship deals for review by a third party, who will determine whether they constitute fair market value.
Maguire cited City’s previous legal battles with Uefa and predicted there may yet be another twist in the related party saga.
“City have successfully defended all charges to date,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“They have got some really smart legal representation. They also have the benefit of having won the Premier League in recent years.
“They’ve won other competitions too, and they have reached the Champions League final, which helps with negotiating deals.
“I don’t see this as being too much of a challenge for them because they should be at the top table in terms of renewing and signing new contracts.
“If the other clubs try and stop this, they are effectively saying that there is more to football than winning trophies, which is ridiculous.“
City dodged expulsion from the Champions League last year after overturning Uefa’s ban for breach of full financial fair play disclosure laws.
The Cityzens have since reached the final of Europe’s premier competition as well as winning a third league title in four years.
In other news, Gabby Agbonlahor shares verdict on West Ham signing Nathan Ake from Man City after latest update.