Photo by Mark Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Mark Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Manchester City charges case continues to rumble on, and Everton fans are wondering if their compensation order to Burnley earlier this year will end up being significant.
City have been found guilty of all financial charges by an independent Premier League commission in a historic ruling.
The Premier League issued a statement last night, and this is arguably the biggest scandal in English football and potentially one of the biggest in all of sport in general. City are set to appeal, with Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Ferran Soriano both speaking defiantly over the last few days.
Everton’s potential compensation was estimated in a new study on Tuesday, which was calculated by removing City from the merits payment table over the period that has been under investigation (between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons).
There’s talk of clubs pursuing compensation from City, and Litigation Editor of The Lawyer Christian Smith has now spoken of the potential for Everton to receive payment later down the line.
Could Everton really get compensation from Man City after charges verdict?
Smith, speaking on The Blue Room podcast, said: “I mean, yeah, that’s definitely a potential, I think. I mean, I wouldn’t want to give too much of a legal analysis answer on that, but I think there’s potential. I mean, there’s also a potential that Everton could win the appeal, but then still be able to claim money off of Manchester City.
“So it will depend on basically how they decide to do the process. I mean, there’s a question that’s being floated around at the moment in terms of are clubs going to be time barred in general in these cases and that sort of thing. Again, I mean, don’t rely on me for this.
“Normally there’s basically a six-year period where you can bring a claim and that sort of runs from the point of when you become aware that a claim could be brought, I think.
“That often can be debatable because you say, oh, okay, well, was that in 2018 when these leaks first happened, or was that in 2026 when the judgment found that they had breached the rules? We don’t know.
“I’m sure there are lawyers out there who probably have a pretty good idea of that answer. I don’t know. But there’s definitely a potential where Everton could have its cake and eat it too.
“There’s also a potential where they lose the appeal and then also can’t claim compensation from City as well, so we’ll have to wait and see.”
Smith stated that Everton’s appeal against the Burnley compensation order looks like it will happen in January 2027, around six to seven months after the initial verdict. The Toffees are said to have changed/update some of their lawyers ahead of the appeal.
With what has happened with City, it will certainly be a situation that many clubs will have eyes on.