‘Eye-watering’ cost of Man City FFP case revealed as Chelsea also investigated

Premier League chiefs are ‘increasingly concerned’ by the rising cost of their legal battle with Manchester City, while they are also having to investigate Chelsea over alleged irregular payments during the Roman Abramovich era, a report has revealed.

In February 2023, the Premier League charged Man City with breaking their financial rules on 115 occasions, with those charges subsequently increased to 130. City have been accused of providing inaccurate information relating to several aspects of their finances – such as operating costs and sponsorship income – between 2009 and 2018.

The Premier League even claim that City paid one of their managers extra money via a secret contract over a four-year period.

Pep Guardiola’s side strongly deny the allegations and insist they will clear their name using a body of ‘irrefutable evidence’.

City were referred to an independent commission by the Premier League and the two sides presented their cases at a hearing between September and December last year.

The verdict was tipped to arrive in either March or over the summer. The March deadline came and went and it seems unlikely fans will learn the verdict before the end of the summer, too.

As per an update from The Times, Premier League officials are worried as the City Financial Fair Play (FFP) case has cost both sides £200million (€229m / $267.5m) combined.

A director from one Premier League side is quoted as saying: “The sums involved are eye-watering. And the money that is going to the lawyers is money that could have gone to the clubs.”

Lawyers are reportedly on thousands of pounds per hour while investigating the case and presenting information from both sides.

The initial investigation by the Premier League ran for four years and it has now been more than two years since City were first charged.

The Premier League are having to fight on multiple fronts, too. The report adds that Chelsea are also being looked into over financial documents from the Abramovich era.

BlueCo, the consortium headed by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital that bought Chelsea from Abramovich in 2022, are helping the Premier League and have provided them with extra information.

The investigation into Chelsea is already in its third year, which once again demonstrates how long such processes can take.

DIVE DEEPER 🌐 New Man City FFP verdict timeline emerges as Premier League CEO quizzed on saga

Man City believe they’ll win case 

A former financial adviser to City claimed on Wednesday that they are ‘confident’ they will be found innocent in their legal wrangle with the Premier League.

City have been ‘comforting’ agents and players, insisting they will not face punishments despite the Premier League’s charges.

During the latest episode of The Overlap, Gary Neville asked Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy about the City case.

Levy said: “I think it would be really unfair of me to talk about another club within the Premier League, all I would say is that it’s going through a process which I think has gone on for far too long.

“It needs to be brought, for the good of the game, to a conclusion one way or another.”

After Neville said it is ‘shameful’ how long the verdict is taking to be released, Levy added: “Well I, as I said, I think it was the FA that should have brought us all together. I agree, it’s unfortunate that we haven’t managed to resolve things internally rather than the recourse of the lawyers because the lawyers are going to earn a lot of money out of this.”

Man City FFP: Punishment advice; Mourinho weighs in

Meanwhile, a former City defender has told the league to ‘think about the players’ when casting down potential punishments.

Jose Mourinho is interested in the case as his former Manchester United side from 2017-18 could pick up the Premier League title if City are found guilty over the most severe charges.

Mourinho has urged City to ‘pay points’ if the Premier League succeed in charging them.