As Manchester City’s dominance continues both on and off the pitch, the prospect of the club facing relegation over Financial Fair Play (FFP) violations appears increasingly unlikely. In what has been labelled as their third ‘victory’ against the Premier League, City have once again sidestepped significant punitive action that many naysayers were hoping for.
The saga began in October 2024 when City triumphed in the first of a series of Associate Party Transactions (APT) disputes. The club successfully challenged sponsorship regulations that were initially deemed ‘unlawful,’ leading to a tribunal in February nullifying these rules altogether, marking a second so-called victory.
Although the Premier League urgently revised and voted in new regulations by November, City remained defiant. A truce was announced earlier this week, with City and the Premier League reaching an agreement under which the current APT rules are now acknowledged as both valid and binding by the club.
This concession hardly resembles a triumph unless one considers it clears the path for a substantial agreement with Etihad Airways. Worth a staggering £1 billion, this deal — initially obstructed in 2023 due to concerns over its ‘fair market value’ could now proceed unimpeded, rendering the legal battle worthwhile for City.
The Premier League’s assertion that future sponsorship deals shall remain subject to a rigorous Fair Market Value assessment seems questionable when City regards this outcome as a third victory. The sense of an impending fourth triumph looms large, likely overshadowing any previous achievements.
The narrative surrounding Manchester City remains consistent: business as usual. Despite public reproach, the club’s adept legal team has routinely outmanoeuvred the Premier League, leading many to believe that even the harshest potential sanctions might be reduced to little more than symbolic gestures. For those hoping for relegation, or even a seismic shift in trophy allocations, the reality may be much less dramatic.
If City’s defence against APT rules was led by lawyers of Kalvin Phillips’ calibre, then those tackling the FFP accusations could only be likened to Erling Haaland, smashing through arguments with relentless efficiency. The prospect of Pep Guardiola plying his trade in League Two is enticing for some, but developments thus far suggest a mere points deduction or a monetary penalty trivial to a club of City’s financial stature is the most realistic outcome.
City’s relentless accumulation of victories, both on the field and in legal skirmishes, suggests their mastery is set to continue unabated. As they rack up yet another win in their legal repertoire, a quadruple of triumphs seems inevitable.
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