Gary Neville has hit out at the FFP case pitting Manchester City against the Premier League, while a football finance expert has suggested Pep Guardiola’s side have the advantage.
In February 2023, Man City were charged with breaking financial rules on 115 occasions, with those charges subsequently increased to 130. The Premier League allege that City repeatedly gave false accounts of sponsorship deals and other income between 2009 and 2018, while also failing to co-operate with their four-year investigation.
City strongly deny any wrongdoing but their case was referred to an independent commission regardless.
The hearing took place between September and December last year. In February, Guardiola said that City were expecting the result to emerge ‘in a month’, which followed numerous outlets reporting that March would be crunch time.
But the verdict has been delayed until the summer at the earliest. Any appeal means subsequent seasons could be affected, which would make the Premier League look even more ridiculous.
During an appearance on The Overlap Fan Debate, Manchester United icon Neville slammed the delays in the verdict being announced.
“That Manchester City case is a disgrace; it’s an absolute stain to the game,” he said.
“I have a lot of admiration for City, but I don’t buy into this theory that clubs do really well, and City have, but it is still a stain to the game.
“It has just been dragging on for years and years, it’s an absolute joke. Yes, City have been defending themselves, but they’ve been pushing it so far into the long grass that you end up losing the will to live on it and you forget about it. It just needs to be dealt with.”
City are battling the Premier League on several fronts, having already fought off their prospective rules over associated party transactions (APTs).
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‘City have got the upper hand’
Kieran Maguire regularly comments on the legal wrangle and has predicted City could come out on top in their FFP case.
“I think we will see some sort of transitional rule with the APTs,” he said. “We have already seen Brighton’s loans from Tony Bloom have been converted into something that is between shares and debt.
“There will be discussions taking place between clubs, lawyers and accountants as to how existing loans can be reclassified as equity. Therefore, that will assist things going forward.
“I think, based on historical evidence, that City have got the upper hand over the Premier League. [Sports lawyer] Nick DeMarco thinks it will be a score draw where the Premier League will win some of the 115 charges, but City will have a far stronger case in others.”
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