Eye-watering legal costs of Manchester City’s 130 charges case with Premier League revealed | OneFootball

The staggering costs of legal action between Manchester City and the Premier League over the former’s alleged 130 breaches of financial rules have now been revealed.

With no verdict yet delivered, concerns are seemingly growing among senior football figures over the broader impact of the case on the English game as a whole.

City were originally charged in February 2023 with a reported 115 alleged breaches of Premier League regulations following a four-year investigation, centred on the club’s financial disclosures from 2009 to 2018, including claims of misstated sponsorship income and undisclosed remuneration.

The club was also accused of failing to cooperate with the investigation, prompting the matter to be referred to an independent commission. In the time since those charges were made public, further developments have emerged.

The case has become increasingly entangled in legal complexity, with City not only defending themselves against the original allegations but also launching legal action against the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules – which were revised earlier this year.

Now, according to the information of The Times’ Martyn Ziegler, senior figures in football have been told the cost to both sides of the Premier League’s case against Manchester City for a now-reported 130 alleged rule breaches may have topped £200 million over the past five years.

Top lawyers are said to have been charging ‘thousands of pounds an hour’, while other sources quoted within the report say that it is impossible to calculate the actual figure at this stage of proceedings.

One unnamed club chief also told the newspaper, “The sums involved are eye-watering. And the money that is going to the lawyers is money that could have gone to the clubs.”

In addition to the case regarding the 130 alleged rule breaches, the Premier League has also been embroiled in legal action brought by Manchester City over the past year in relation to its Associated Party Transaction rules.

The league made amendments to those rules as a result of Manchester City’s initial action, although officials at the Etihad Stadium have since issued another challenge and a hearing is scheduled for September.

These costs come at a time when club executives across the Premier League are growing increasingly vocal in their frustration. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy recently called for the case to be concluded “for the good of the game,” while Premier League CEO Richard Masters offered a rare apology for the delay, insisting he could not share details due to confidentiality.

The growing financial and reputational weight of the proceedings raises new questions about how sustainable this legal path is for all parties involved. Should Manchester City be found guilty, further appeals could stretch on for years, with added costs and continued scrutiny.

If Manchester City are cleared, the Premier League may come under pressure to explain the resources spent on a case that yields no punishment. With a potential verdict tentatively expected around the international break window in October – as recently reported by The Independent – the stakes are higher than ever.

But as this latest financial revelation makes clear, the implications of the case now go far beyond sporting sanctions or league positions, and are seemingly reshaping the legal and financial landscape of English football.