Stefan Borson
Mon 26 May 2025 6:30, UK
Manchester City appear to have avoided any action from the European Commission following allegations they had breached EU competition law.
Javier Tebas filed complaints about Man City and PSG allegedly using state resources under the EU’s foreign subsidies regulation.
Speaking to journalists at The Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in February, the La Liga president accused the Premier League side of an Enron-style deception by hiding their costs in affiliated companies.
However, The Guardian reported on 15 May both clubs will face no action from the European Commission after well-placed sources have indicated a formal investigation will not take place.
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider the EU’s executive arm was not prepared to reveal more details about the case when he contacted it recently.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s side are still waiting to hear the verdict in their 115 charges case.
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An independent commission hearing into the case started in September last year and ended in December, with the panel currently considering its verdict.
Man City
Javier Tebas acted reasonably after Man City claim
Borson believes it was reasonable for Tebas to try and protect the interests of his own clubs.
He told Football Insider: “I looked at this a while ago, and I did contact the European Commission.
“They weren’t giving much away, but they did seem to confirm that they were still looking at it when the original comments were made.
“But then it didn’t seem to fit with their stated timetables on their own website, so I never really thought that it was likely to go anywhere.
“It’s not a real surprise. I think it would be quite an action for the European Commission to start looking into something of this nature. It didn’t seem to fit that well with the usual areas of interest.
“Tebas has been a long-standing critic of City and PSG in particular. But I guess from his perspective, his responsibilities are towards his league.
“The reality I guess is that City and PSG have taken away some kind of commercial benefit from La Liga and, therefore, I think in a sense it is legitimate for him to battle for his league.
“His clubs are La Liga clubs. He doesn’t have a responsibility to City or to PSG and, therefore, he needs to support his clubs wherever he can. To that extent, I think it’s sort of reasonable behaviour.
“But I don’t think he ever really believed that the EC would investigate or more, and it now looks like that’s the case. I did contact them again.
“They didn’t formally confirm to me the story that was written that there will be no action, so they weren’t prepared to say any more about the situation than they had said historically.”
Man City
Man City close in on record-breaking Tijjani Reijnders deal
In terms of on-field matters, Football Insider revealed on 16 May Man City are making progress in their bid to sign Tijjani Reijnders in a record-breaking deal from AC Milan.
The Manchester giants’ move for the 26-year-old midfielder could be worth upwards of £70million, dwarfing the Serie A club’s record sale, which saw Kaka move to Real Madrid for £56million in 2009.
Appearances (Starts) 54 (53)
Goals 15
Assists 5
Yellow Cards 3
Red Cards 1
Tijjani Reijnders’s 2024-25 stats (all competitions)
Man City could sell players before signing Reijnders to clear space in their squad and raise funds.
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