Stefan Borson reveals what he spotted as Man City legal letters revealed in full after bust-up
Manchester City are still facing questions around their behind-the-scenes activities as they await the verdict in their 115 charges case.
Man City were dealt the charges by the Premier League in February 2023 for allegedly breaching the financial fair play (FFP) rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018.
The charges were handed out just months before journalist Nick Harris published an article in The Daily Mail around the financial advantages a multi-club organisation like Man City’s owners – the City Football Group – might gain from operating such a model.
In a Substack post on 23 December, Harris revealed letters sent to his bosses at The Daily Mail from a law firm on behalf of Pep Guardiola’s side.
The journalist claims the purpose of the letters was to get him “sacked” by the newspaper.
Man City legal letters analysed after sack claim emerges
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider he doesn’t believe the 10-time English champions sent the letters with the intention of getting Harris sacked.
Meanwhile, he also doesn’t see an issue with the nature of the article, where questions were asked around Man City’s financial situation.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “I love to have a look at legal letters that various clubs have sent to various people, where you can see them, and Nick Harris does disclose those in full on the Substack, so it’s interesting.
“I don’t think that it sorts his sacking. I think they made a relatively uncontroversial point about the tone of some of his commentary, which does seem to stray sometimes outside a reasonable level of objectivity, and that’s the point City were making.
“I mean, where’s the line between wanting somebody sacked and wanting them not to write about a particular club? I don’t know. I don’t think City believe that they have any power or right to have a journalist sacked.
“It’s a pretty one-way relationship with The Daily Mail or The Mail on Sunday in terms of who they were writing to. It’s not as if The Mail on Sunday rely on Manchester City for say sponsorship or ownership or anything, so City don’t really have huge leverage in that relationship.”
Man City’s relationship with journalist ‘collapsed’ after controversy
Borson insisted the letters came about after Man City’s relationship with Harris had “collapsed”.
“I think it was a sign really that by 2023, the relationship between that particular journalist and the club had sort of irretrievably collapsed, and I think City are making those points around that,” said Borson.
“Nick will argue that you don’t send a letter like that unless you want the individual sacked. He’s entitled to that view. I don’t think the letter said what he suggests it said. It was a fairly typical lawyer’s letter, fairly tame in its commentary.
“I don’t actually think there’s much wrong with the original article either, by the way. I mean, some of the facts were not quite right, but why would they be? Nobody has the precise numbers of these things.
“In fairness, he did ask City for the precise numbers, which obviously City weren’t going to give him, so I think it’s a bit of a storm in a teacup.”
Meanwhile, Man City’s wait for a decision in their 115 charges case continues, with the panel still considering its verdict a year after the hearing came to an end.
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