An Evertonian has raised a fascinating question about Manchester City’s financial breaches and whether they could ultimately have implications for Everton’s own past financial problems.
The question was put during a televised Manchester City Q&A, asking whether City’s conduct could have denied Everton European football and the revenues that came with it — and, in turn, whether that lost income could have contributed to the financial difficulties that later resulted in Everton being punished under the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules.
There is a considerable legal and financial leap between asking that question and establishing a case. But after an independent commission found City guilty of serious financial breaches across nine seasons, it isn’t an unreasonable issue for Evertonians to raise.
Everton’s European near-misses provide the backdrop
As we reported earlier this week, Everton finished immediately outside European qualification four times during the nine seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18 covered by the commission’s findings.
That doesn’t mean Everton can simply argue they would have qualified had City’s breaches not occurred. European qualification depended on league positions and domestic cup results, while removing one club retrospectively wouldn’t necessarily produce a straightforward rewriting of every competition or result.
The underlying financial question is nevertheless interesting. European football can generate additional broadcasting, prize, matchday and commercial income, and Everton subsequently experienced financial difficulties that culminated in PSR breaches and points deductions.
The commission found City used “sham” arrangements to artificially increase revenues and reduce costs by more than £900m during the affected period. It also concluded that, had the relevant agreements been reported accurately, City would have breached Premier League and UEFA spending limits by a very substantial amount.
City deny the accusations and have lodged an appeal against the commission’s decision, arguing that it contains material errors of law, principle and fact.
Burnley ruling makes Everton question particularly interesting
There is another reason the question carries particular resonance for Everton.
The Blues are appealing against a landmark ruling ordering them to compensate Burnley over Everton’s own PSR breach. Burnley were awarded £26m in damages plus £9.1m in interest calculated to July 2025, with further interest continuing to accrue, according to analysis of the compensation ruling by Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
Crucially, the commission considered whether Everton’s overspending had provided a sporting advantage which caused Burnley’s relegation in 2021/22. After considering competing expert evidence, it concluded on the balance of probabilities that Everton’s additional expenditure probably produced around four extra points or more, enough to make the difference between survival and relegation.
Everton strongly dispute that conclusion and are appealing the decision.
That ruling doesn’t establish that Everton would have a comparable claim against City, still less that City’s breaches caused Everton’s subsequent PSR problems. Establishing such a case would require evidence of causation and quantifiable financial loss, and City’s own findings remain subject to appeal.
But the Burnley case demonstrates something significant: Premier League rules can allow one club to seek compensation where another club’s proven rule breach is established to have caused it financial loss.
The cost of no Europe
For Evertonians, that inevitably turns the question around. If Everton can ultimately be held financially responsible for losses caused to Burnley by their PSR breach, could Everton ever demonstrate that City’s now-proven breaches cost them European football and the revenues that came with it?
There is no evidence at present that Everton have made such a claim, and City’s appeal means the underlying findings are not yet the end of the process. Other Premier League clubs have, however, reportedly taken steps to preserve potential compensation claims against City.
For a club that has already been docked points over its own finances and is now fighting a compensation award worth more than £35m, it is a question Evertonians are entitled to ask.
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