Man City FFP: Premier League clubs to ‘suffer £50m blow’ after claims Citizens ‘will be relegated’

Premier League clubs will lose £50m from their funding amid the huge legal fees involved in their case against Man City, according to the Citizens’ former financial adviser Stefan Borson.

An independent commission hearing to examine 115 charges laid by the Premier League against the Citizens started last month.

The Premier League opened an investigation into Man City way back in 2018 and after a number of legal delays, charges were finally laid in February 2023 and the club were referred to an independent commission.

The charges against the Citizens relate to the requirement to accurately report financial information, including around the value of sponsorship deals, the submission of details of manager and player pay information and to a club’s responsibility as a Premier League member to adhere to UEFA’s financial regulations and to the league’s own profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

They are also accused of failing to co-operate with the league’s investigation. In all, there are charges relating to every season between 2009-10 and 2022-23.

Man City issued a statement strenuously denying the allegations on the day the charges were brought, saying they they welcomed the opportunity for an independent commission “to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of our position”.

The club added: “As such, we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”

The Times reported last week that the Premier League’s legal fees hit £50m last season with ‘cost of investigations and arbitration hearings involving Manchester City, Chelsea, Everton, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City led to the league’s legal bill soaring well beyond the anticipated £8million’.

And former Man City financial adviser Borson claims that each Premier League club will have to take a funding hit because of the overspend on legal fees, with Football Insider insist the teams will ‘suffer £50m blow’.

Borson told Football Insider: “It definitely will impact their funding. At the end of the day, the Premier League doesn’t have any independent sources of finance.

“There is a central pot of money, which is then distributed to the clubs, so the Premier League is spending the individual clubs’ money in prosecuting these cases.

“There is no real way around that. If it’s spending £40-50million in the last year, which is what the reports say, then that is the top slice of the clubs’ money.

“Each club will have to take a deduction of proceeds for this year from the Premier League to effectively cover these increased expenses in the way that you would do in any kind of service charge in a flat.

“Everybody has to chip in their own bit, that’s just the way it works. Even £50million across the clubs is not that significant. It’s not that much money and isn’t that big of a deal from a financial perspective.

“It’s not ideal, but it’s not going to change materially the system. The Premier League has no choice. What is it meant to do?

“It has to regulate the clubs and that costs money. Lawyers are expensive.”

Former Everton chairman Keith Wyness recently revealed that he felt Man City will be relegated “down a league or two” if found guilty of breaking the Premier League’s rules.

Wyness told Football Insider: “I think complete expulsion is unlikely. I don’t see the punishment being that draconian. For the first time, I’m hearing noises about potential settlements for this case.

“I don’t think it’ll be quickly, but when each side starts to lay out their evidence – and we see some cross-examination – I think both sides will realise they’re fighting to a score draw.

“Let’s see how it plays out. I think there will be a penalty, but it won’t be expulsion from everything. There’ll be a relegation, I feel, down a league or two. That’s now a likely outcome.”