Manchester City demand ‘key and sensitive’ financial information from Arsenal and other Premier League clubs | OneFootball

Lawyers acting on behalf of Manchester City have requested ‘key and sensitive’ financial information from Arsenal, among other clubs within the Premier League.

Manchester City have already scored a previous victory over the Premier League regarding their Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, and at the time sent a firm warning to the division against making changes to such rules.

Since then, club officials have progressed with such warning and are taking legal action, with reports suggesting that clubs were struck with a bill in excess of £20 million as a direct result of Manchester City’s success.

The case concerning Manchester City, the Premier League, and the competition’s Associated Party Transactions is separate to the widely-reported allegations of financial breaches that saw the Etihad Stadium struck by more than 115 charges back in February 2022.

And now, it appears as though the club are escalating their efforts with regards to APT rules, demanding information be handed over by competitor clubs within the competition to stand alongside their case later this year.

That is according to a new report from MailSport’s Mike Keegan, who reveals that City may force a number of Premier League clubs to hand over ‘key and sensitive’ financial information after lawyers acting on behalf of the Etihad Stadium club issued a request to the competition.

It is detailed that legal representatives of City have asked for the Premier League to ‘invoke one of its own rules’ and force a group of clubs – including the likes of Brighton and Everton alongside Arsenal – to provide detail on loans they have received from their owners.

As such, Manchester City want to use the information in their latest battle with the Premier League over its amended rules on sponsorship deals, according to MailSport.

City state new regulations on Associated Party Transactions continue to discriminate, and that shareholder loans – often featuring favourable or zero interest – give clubs who receive them an unfair advantage as they are not subject to the same scrutiny as other commercial deals.

Manchester City launched their latest legal challenge against the Premier League over new rules governing sponsorship deals which the club claims are “unlawful” back in February, with a letter confirming the development issued to clubs by chief executive Richard Masters.

“On January 20, 2025, Manchester City FC began a further arbitration to challenge the APT rules… the new challenge relates to the amendments to the APT rules that clubs approved at the 22 November 2024 shareholders’ meeting,” Masters wrote.

“Manchester City FC seeks a declaration that the amendments approved by clubs in November (and therefore the current APT rules in force) are unlawful and void. The Premier League remains strongly of the view that the amendments passed in November were lawful and the APT rules comply with all competition law requirements.

“We consider that the new arbitration must be resolved as soon as possible and, to that end, have agreed that the same tribunal should be appointed to hear the new case. The parties are currently corresponding in relation to further directions.

“The APT rules remain in full force and effect and clubs remain required to comply with all aspects of the system.”