The Premier League’s legal battle with Manchester City has still not seen a result and has been ongoing for almost two years since the 12-week hearing finished in 2024
Manchester City and the Premier League’s legal battle is estimated to have cost each over £100m and may have already reached the appeal stage, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire. City were charged with 115 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules in February 2023, but no result has been forthcoming.
Maguire, who admits he has no evidence to support such a suspicion, said he would not be surprised if one party were appealing an initial finding, given the silence around the case. He highlighted a similar situation with Chelsea, where the news did not emerge until after their appeal over 78 charges.
A 12-week hearing into the charges against City concluded in December 2024. With the two-year mark approaching, the independent commission is yet to publish a ruling on the complex case, with City strongly denying the allegations they face.
“We are probably talking hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pieces of evidence, and they have to be gone through with a fine-tooth comb,” Maguire said on the Rest is Football podcast.
“We saw with the Chelsea case, where Chelsea had 78 charges, that the verdict was given and Chelsea effectively appealed and that took another 3 or 4 months to work out.
“So we could be in a situation, and I have no evidence to back this up, that there has been a decision made on Manchester City and either the Premier League or Manchester City have immediately appealed and we are now actually working out way through the appeal process to get a final, final answer. We didn’t know that (there was an appeal) in terms of Chelsea.”
Mirror Sport have approached Manchester City and the Premier League for comment.
In May, it was suggested that a result could still be two years away. The scale of the charges and the severity of the accusations have ensured a long wait for an unprecedented case in English football.
Among City’s charges are 54 allegations of failing to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information from 2009 until 2018. They also face 14 alleged breaches of failing to provide accurate financial reports of player and manager compensation over the same period.
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“We are now almost two years since the commission first sat, it commenced in September 2024,” Maguire said. “It took around about 10-12 weeks to hear all the evidence. As one lawyer said to me, if there are 115 charges, there are 115 defences, so it makes it difficult.
“You have got three people sitting on the commission, all of whom are very high-powered people in their own right, so getting them into the same room at the same time over the course of the last 18-20 months has proven to be very difficult.
“Then, from what I understand and there has been very much a news blackout, you have got to give the people and professionals involved a lot of credit. There are no leaks, no WhatsApp groups with gossip.”
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The wait is proving costly for both the Premier League and City, however. Maguire believes both will have racked up nine-figure bills.
“These charges are so serious that it is difficult to see how the board of Manchester City could survive if they lose the case and it would be hugely embarrassing for the Premier League if they lose the case because the legal costs for both parties are probably in excess of £100m,” Maguire added.
Premier League chief Richard Masters has admitted that the process has taken longer than he hoped. Speaking last month he suggested he was unable to provide an update and that the system must be allowed to take its course.
“Our rules are very clear about that – I have to keep everything confidential until we’re ready to hand down a decision and be clear about it,” he said. “I can’t give any update on timing or what’s happening.
“There’s only one available route through this, which is to allow the process to take its course. It has taken longer than expected, and I do understand the frustrations.”
“I’ve already said the commission need the time and the space to do their job,” he added. “In the end, the Premier League’s role is to put allegations, if the evidence is strong enough, in front of an independent commission and allow that commission to establish the truth, and that shouldn’t be qualified by the amount of time it takes to get there.”
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