Man City FFP: Liverpool could demand ‘over £100m’ along with Man Utd, Arsenal and Spurs | OneFootball

Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal and Tottenham could demand over £100m if Man City are found guilty of the most serious of their 115 Premier League charges over financial fair play, according to reports.

The Citizens didn’t manage to win the Premier League title in the last two seasons after being crowned champions in each of their previous four campaigns.

Man City, who finished second in the Premier League behind Arsenal this term, have had the shadow of their FFP case hanging over them with a verdict expected months ago.

An independent commission hearing to examine 115 charges laid by the Premier League against Man City started in September 2024 and ended in December 2024.

The Premier League opened an investigation into Man City way back in 2018 and after a number of legal delays, charges were finally laid in February 2023 and the club were referred to an independent commission.

The charges against the Citizens relate to the requirement to accurately report financial information, including around the value of sponsorship deals, the submission of details of manager and player pay information and to a club’s responsibility as a Premier League member to adhere to UEFA’s financial regulations and to the league’s own profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

They are also accused of failing to co-operate with the league’s investigation. In all, there are charges relating to every season between 2009-10 and 2022-23.

Former Man City boss Pep Guardiola, who has been replaced by Enzo Maresca, said in February 2025 that he expected “a verdict and a sentence” in one month (March 2025) but that didn’t come as the date continues to be a secret.

Guardiola said: “In one month I think there will be a verdict and a sentence and after we will see my opinion of what happened so far. Still, at the end, every club can do whatever they want.

“Because in the last 10 years we are third [for net spend], but in the last five even with what we won we are behind the top six teams so I’m sorry for the comments and that is why I don’t agree.

“In the last five years, we are the last team in the top six. Even after what we have spent in this transfer window, we are away from Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Tottenham.

“Even from Liverpool. The only reason why is we sell a lot in the last seasons but even with that I know this club, it is always ‘just about the money.'”

And now The Times chief sports reporter Martyn Ziegler insists that Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd and Tottenham ‘could each claim more than £100million in compensation if the club are found guilty of serious charges among 115 alleged breaches of Premier League rules’.

Those four clubs already ‘served legal notices on City in 2024 reserving the right to seek compensation if the club are found guilty.’

The news comes after football finance expert Kieran Maguire revealed that “huge implications” on Man City and Chelsea of Everton being ordered to pay £40m to Burnley for breaching Premier League spending rules.

Writing on X, Maguire said: ‘This case has huge implications for Clubs who feel they were disadvantaged by Chelsea’s breach of the Premier League rules, and, IF found guilty, Clubs who may have lost out to Manchester City for trophies and Champions League places.

‘Any sports lawyers thinking of going on holiday may have to postpone them.’

Maguire added in an interview with talkSPORT: “There could be an argument that points deductions should have been given in previous years, then should we have to go and revise the Premier League table retrospectively in terms of how the prize money is allocated.

“How the Champions League prize money would be therefore available to a club that perhaps finished fourth (or) that might have otherwise finished fourth in the Premier League and so on.

“We do have a sort of precedent for this in the sense that if you recall the Carlos Tevez case, where West Ham ended up giving Sheffield United a sizable amount of compensation, well over £20million, and that was about 2008, 2009.

“That’s when £20million, £25million was worth a lot of money and certainly significantly less than it is worth today.

“So on the back of that we’ve got settlements between Middlesbrough and Derby and Wycombe Wanderers and Derby.

“Does it mean that breaches of PSR have consequences for sides who are otherwise relegated or didn’t get into the play-offs or similar.”