Man City, PL discussed financial settlement and knock-on effect revealed after talks fell apart quickly
According to reports, Manchester City and the Premier League have held talks about a ‘settlement’, though these discussions ‘quickly fell apart’.
During the international break, it was confirmed that Man City have been found guilty on almost all charges after being accused of breaching the Premier League’s FFP regulations and failing to comply.
Enzo Maresca’s side have appealed and continue to insist on their innocence, but they face serious consequences if they cannot clear their name.
Their possible sanctions include a fine, transfer ban, points deduction, expulsion and/or being stripped of their Premier League titles.
It is hoped that there can be an outcome before the end of this season, though the initial verdict is surely vindication for the Premier League after they referred Man City to an independent comission at the start of 2023 following a four-year probe.
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Still, this case is also a stain on the Premier League, and they would obviously have preferred this not to happen.
With that, it is not too surprising that Bloomberg reported on Friday evening that Man City and the Premier League ‘discussed a settlement’ before the guilty verdict was reached.
Outcome of settlement talks revealed
It is said that a settlement would have centred around Man City making a ‘sizeable financial payment rather than relegation and stripping of titles’ and ‘could have mitigated’ more severe punishments.
It is also noted that this would have likely been ‘opposed’ by Man City’s Premier League rivals, with it widely reported that they want retrospective and forward sanctions after the guilty verdict.
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However, the report also confirms that the ‘talks quickly fell apart’ because Man City ‘consistently proclaimed its innocence’.
The report adds:
‘Given the scale of the Premier League’s case, with Manchester City accused of more than 115 financial charges, any settlement would’ve likely only decreased the size of the case, rather than resolved it, the people said.
‘Representatives for Manchester City and the Premier League declined to comment. Premier League rules state that, following the appointment of a new three-person appeal board, a verdict of the appeal should be published by early February.’
A leading sports lawyer has previously questioned Man City’s ‘high risk’ approach, and this is likely to come back to haunt them with the verdict on sanctions.
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