According to reports, the ‘war’ between Manchester City and the Premier League over APT rules has ‘ended’ as a ‘settlement’ has been ‘agreed’.
Man City have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle against the Premier League since the start of 2023. The dispute started when the club were charged with breaching over 100 Financial Fair Play rules between 2009 and 2018.
The Premier League referred the case to an independent commission after conducting a four-year investigation into Man City’s alleged conduct, though the club have insisted on their innocence since these charges came to light.
Over two and a half years later, a verdict has yet to be reached, and despite the case being concluded towards the end of 2024, it’s unclear when a verdict will be reached/announced.
To complicate matters, Man City and the Premier League have also butted heads over Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules,with Pep Guardiola’s side launching an unprecedented battle for these regulations to be abolished.
Man City were initially successful as the regulations in their past form were deemed unlawful, but the Premier League decided to amend the rules rather than abolish them completely.
This meant the conflict between the two parties continued as Man City remained keen on the regulations to be binned, thus opening the door to more lavish commercial deals.
READ: Man City FFP: Liverpool, Man Utd, even Spurs among new winners of reallocated trophies on alternate timeline
Therefore, it came as a surprise when it was announced on Monday afternoon that Man City and the Premier League have ‘agreed a settlement’ relating to the APT situation.
A statement from Man City read: ‘The Premier League and Manchester City FC have reached a settlement in relation to the arbitration commenced by the club earlier this year concerning the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) Rules and as a result the parties have agreed to terminate the proceedings.
‘This settlement brings an end to the dispute between the parties regarding the APT Rules. As part of the settlement, Manchester City accepts that the current APT Rules are valid and binding.
‘It has been agreed that neither the Premier League nor the club will be making any further comment about the matter.’
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More details have been provided by The Daily Mail’s Mike Keegan, who claims the ‘war has ended’ and this agreement ‘paves the way for the club to complete a wide-ranging deal with Etihad Airways’.
This is deemed a ‘significant development’, with it noted that this ‘interesting move could signal a thawing in relations between the two sides’.
The report explains:
‘It is also understood that barriers to the Etihad deal have now been removed and that City are confident that they will not be treated differently to any other top-flight club going forward.
‘The development may be seen as yet-another victory for City, although the Premier League may well be relieved to bring the chapter to a close – and will no doubt take comfort from the fact that the amended rules will remain in place.’
Regarding the FFP situation, it is pointed out that the APT issue ‘is not linked to the Premier League’s case against City for more than 115 alleged breaches of its rules on spending’, while ‘a decision on the long-running saga remains elusive’.