Man City v Premier League: Big update as verdict to be delivered soon - sources
Premier League clubs will need to vote on any changes to the associated party transaction (APT) rules if Manchester City win their case, sources have told Football Insider.
The English champions have taken legal action against the Premier League regarding the APT rules currently in place, with the club claiming the regulations are “unlawful”.
After a two-week private arbitration hearing took place in June, The Times reported on 12 August a decision is now due within the next week.
Sources have told Football Insider there is no requirement for the arbitration result to be announced publicly, but the 20 Premier League clubs will have to vote on any changes to the APT rules if Man City are successful.
A relaxation of the rules would mean top-flight sides could agree sponsorship deals as high as they wanted with no challenge, increasing the amount they could spend under the profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
Man City commercial deals have led to huge upturn in revenue
Four of Man City’s 10 biggest commercial and sponsorship deals at present are with companies linked to their Abu-Dhabi ownership group, including their stadium naming rights and shirt deal with Etihad Airways.
The Manchester club have recorded a huge upturn in revenue over the past few years, largely down to their commercial revenue rising from £21million the season before the takeover took place in 2008 to £341.4million in 2022-23.
Football Insider revealed on 8 June Pep Guardiola’s side will have “unlimited spending power” if they manage to win their APT case against the Premier League.
It isn’t the only legal battle Man City are currently involved in after they were dealt 115 charges by the governing body in February 2023 for allegedly breaching the financial fair play (FFP) rules over a nine-year period.
That case is now believed to have been brought forward to mid-to-late September after it was originally planned to take place in November, with the hearing scheduled to last 10 weeks.
But finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively revealed to Football Insider the case is unlikely to reach a full conclusion until the end of 2025 if any appeals are launched against the verdict.
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