Man City to ‘make application’ to PL for ‘£20m legal bill’ to set up ‘separate hearing’ to FFP
According to reports, Manchester City are set to submit an ‘application’ to the Premier League to pay their ‘£20m legal bill’.
Since the start of 2023, Man City have been embroiled in a legal battle against the Premier League.
This started when Man City were referred to an independent commission after the Premier League concluded a four-year probe into their conduct between 2009 and 2018.
Pep Guardiola‘s charged with breaching over 100 of the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules and this prolonged case concluded at the end of 2024.
Man City have insisted on their innocence, but if they are found guilty, they could be punished with a huge fine, points deduction, transfer ban, or expulsion from the Premier League.
The Premier League outfit have reportedly utilised their immense resources to invest heavily in legal fees in an attempt to clear their name with the ‘staggering’ total bill revealed.
City have been bullish in their fight against the Premier League and launched another case last summer as they campaigned for Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules to be removed.
This situation was also dragged out and Man City were eventually successful, with the APT rules deemed “void and unenforcable”.
It remains to be seen whether this verdict will impact Man City’s FFP hearing, but The Times claims the Premier League ‘face a £20m legal bill’ after their ‘devastating’ APT ‘blow’.
The report claims ‘City are expected to make application for Premier League to pay club’s legal fees — on top of their own — for first stage in continuing battle over APT’.
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It is noted that Man City’s legal bill is ‘well north of £10m alone’. This situation is set to spark another hearing and the report has highlighted the Premier League’s likely defence.
‘These legal disputes are coming at a considerable cost, with City expecting the league to cover the expense of a legal team, led by Lord Pannick KC and Paul Harris KC, that claimed victory in the first part of the APT battle. It is understood that for City alone, the bill amounts to well north of £10million.
‘A separate hearing will be held to determine who pays what, with the Premier League expected to robustly defend any claims against it for costs on the basis that the process has yet to be concluded.
‘The league’s lawyers are also likely to point out that it was not its decision to become embroiled in such a lengthy legal battle, accusing City of aiming to cash in on any APT changes via huge new sponsorship deals with Etihad Airways and other commercial partners.’