‘Premier League to fight Man City to the end’ after £200m spent on legal fees
The Premier League will refuse to back down without reaching a conclusion in their case against Man City.
That is the verdict of football finance expert Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that despite spending an estimated £200million in legal fees over the last five years, the chances of the Premier League giving up now were “highly unlikely”.
Man City were given 115 charges by the Premier League in February 2023 for alleged breaches of financial fair play (FFP) between 2009 and 2018.
An independent commission hearing began in September 2024 and finished in December of that same year, but the panel has not yet reached a verdict.
Man City allegedly concealed payments through various third-party businesses in order to funnel money into the club.
Premier League in too deep to back down to Man City
This article contains exclusive comment from Dan Plumley, a football finance expert and senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.
The legal battle that has ensued between the Sky Blues and the Premier League has been a pricey one for both parties. The Times reports that both sides have spent an estimated £200m each.
Club chiefs from the Premier League’s biggest clubs have concerns over the cost of the ongoing legal case, with one saying, “The sums involved are eye-watering and the money that is going to the lawyers is money that could have gone to the clubs.”
But despite those concerns, Plumley told Football Insider that the chances of the Premier League backing down at this stage were incredibly low.
He said: “I think they’ve got to see this to some sort of conclusion. And that’s the problem here.
“We knew City would be pretty bullish about this. They said we’ll tie the Premier League up in litigation if we have to.
“We’re almost a year on now from the start of that case. It is lengthy and we perhaps didn’t expect it to be this lengthy.
“I know the fees are high and that was always going to be the case, but I just feel that for everything that’s gone on with this particular case, there’s got to be some sort of verdict on it.
“What that verdict is, we’re still speculating.
“But I think for the Premier League to give up now would be highly unlikely, and actually would be worse for them.
“They’ve got to get to a verdict on it. We just don’t know when that’s going to be and what that might be.
“It’s really complex. But we expected the legal cost to be sky high, because [it was] pretty clear from the outset that City were going to go down that road.”
Man City set to agree behind-scenes compromise
With the case against them continuing to drag on, Pep Guardiola‘s side may be inclined to reach a compromise with the Premier League behind the scenes.
Keith Wyness told Football Insider that Man City will be keen to end to uncertainty which surrounds them.
The former Everton and Aston Villa CEO revealed that he believes that the details of a deal will be hammered out in the background.
Wyness added he thinks that City are promising players that a resolution will be found soon as a way of assuring new signings.