Manchester City's inflated revenue has seen them found guilty by an independent commission and one of their landmark sponsorship deals was previously flagged by Liverpool's owner
Liverpool owner John Henry has always been suspicious of Man City's commercial revenue
Liverpool owner John Henry has always been suspicious of Man City's commercial revenue(Image: Carl Recine, Getty Images)
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Liverpool owner John Henry called out Manchester City's sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways 16 years ago with that agreement now under the microscope as part of the guilty verdict handed down by an independent commission.
The Premier League side are engulfed in one of the biggest sagas in English football history having been found guilty of 114 of 115 of the charges levelled against them. They massively inflated their revenue, which gave them the room to spend huge amounts on players and wages when their Abu Dhabi owners arrived.
Among their landmark deals was the £400million sponsorship deal with Etihad, which they announced in July 2011. FSG purchased Liverpool in October 2010 and within a year saw City throwing around their financial weight.
After their Etihad deal was confirmed Henry, clearly suspicious of the commercial deal, posted on X, then Twitter: "How much was the losing bid?"
Days later and Henry again pressed on with that narrative and referenced something then Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger had said. The Frenchman suggested that City were trying to find ways around FFP rules.
The FSG boss stated on social media: "A club's best player has to be worth at least 10% of your naming rights. Mr. Wenger says boldly what everyone thinks."
City's rule breaking activity covers a period from 2009/10 until 2017/18 - during that time Liverpool finish second to the Manchester outfit back in 2013/2014 and also lost out to them in the Carabao Cup final in 2016. After that they hit their peak under Jurgen Klopp, finishing second to City in epic title races in 2018/19 and 2021/22.
Man City's Etihad sponsorship has come under the microscope
Man City's Etihad sponsorship has come under the microscope
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Etihad has said it could take legal action against the Premier League after the guilty verdict. They released a statement on last week where they criticised the Premier League for the way its findings were presented.
Etihad rejected "any implication that suggests the airline has ever been involved in improper commercial arrangements" and maintained that they "stand with the club". Etihad said it would "seek the relevant legal counsel on the options and recourse available to protect its interests".