‘Spurs could sue for £50m’: The costs Man City face, according to a finance expert

Manchester City could face compensation claims from players and managers who missed out on Champions League and title bonuses as part of a legal bill that could run to hundreds of millions. It is understood that an independent commission has found City guilty of the vast majority of the charges brought by the Premier League. City say the “process remains ongoing” but the ramifications if the verdict stands are huge. Sanctions will be decided in the coming weeks – with the Premier League and City able to make representations to the panel – but as well as possible points deductions and huge fines, the club could be liable to compensation claims. So far, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are the four clubs that have “reserved the right” to seek compensation if the verdict is upheld. Enzo Maresca only joined City last summer after leaving Chelsea (Photo: Getty) But legal experts have told The i Paper that others could yet decide to join in – and that players and managers of rival clubs who missed out on bonuses may also have a claim. Rio Ferdinand and David De Gea have already – perhaps tongue-in-cheek – speculated that they may be awarded titles for the era in question. Clubs may have been emboldened by Burnley, who won £35m after taking action against Everton for a financial breach in the 2021-22 season. Burnley argued Everton’s transgression had a direct impact on their chances of staying in the Premier League and, after assembling data to back up the case that the breach had a material impact on the final placings, won. Everton are appealing the decision, but Burnley’s success illustrated that a theoretical case based on “loss of chance” can prevail. The clubs that could be entitled to millions Tottenham are among the clubs seeking legal advice over compensation (Photo: Getty) United (twice, in 2012 and 2018) and Liverpool (in 2014) were denied the title, but Tottenham missed out on Champions League qualification between 2011 and 2013 and that could actually prove to be a more lucrative claim. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes Spurs could be looking at a claim of around £50m for lost revenue. “Overall, the bill could be hundreds of millions if you look at the number of clubs involved,” Maguire told The i Paper. “You would calculate the size of the claim by looking at the rewards of qualifying for the Champions League and the potential prize money. For winning the Champions League it is €150m. It’s €40m for the Europa League, so you would look at the amount potentially lost by competing in one competition rather than the other. “Some clubs who finished fifth will be looking at a minimum of €50m claim for loss of prize money. “Then you could legitimately say that instead of hosting Bayern Munich or Real Madrid on a Wednesday night, we ended up hosting the second-best team in Denmark on a Thursday night, so our gate receipts were down. Bonuses from sponsors are down too. All of that goes into the claims. “I think individual clubs’ claims could exceed the amount Burnley settled for.” Players could also mount claims Rio Ferdinand joked he should be given another Premier League winners’ medal (Photo: Getty) While clubs might end up looking to negotiate a settlement – which happened between Leeds and Everton in 2024 over the latter’s financial breach – there is also the possibility that players look at claiming for missed revenue during the period. “At present it’s seen as a remote chance but could players on an individual or class action basis take action based on bonuses missed out on?” Maguire said. “I’ve seen contracts with a 25 per cent pay rise for playing in the Champions League. A player on £4m-a-year has been denied £1m. If there’s 25 people in the squad, that potentially adds up. “By the time you take into account individual clubs and players over a long period of time, you could be talking nine figures.” The i Paper has been told that plenty of clubs are talking to lawyers even though – so far – only four have sent City Football Group notice of their intention to bring a claim. But another source said that litigation could be costly and time-consuming, and most would only proceed if they felt they had a “slam dunk” against City. ‘It could be years of case after case’ While there is little sympathy for City among leading executives at other clubs, with some expressing relief that the end game may well be in sight, there are many who are concerned about how the footballing discourse in this country could become a “legal mess”. The general “murky nature” of the charges will make any legal action hard to define. The fact that City are set to be found guilty of varying infringements will only complicate things further. “It could be years of case after case,” one source close to senior figures at a top Premier League club tells The i Paper. “Of course, if you can get your hands on extra millions in compensation, you will take it. Especially if it is at City’s expense. “The worry is that so many will try their hand, even when there isn’t really a proper case to make, and clog up the legal system. It could take years for all the cases to be seen.” Suing for loss of Champions League earnings could be a more straightforward one, given it was City keeping teams out. The same can be said for loss of prize money for Premier League placings. But relegated clubs will be eyeing their slice of the pie too, some suggest, if they are willing to go all the way to the courts. “I imagine it is incredibly hard to prove, but given the financial struggles at Championship clubs, teams relegated after defeats to City or those who lost several key players to City in that period may be considering action,” a source who has worked at a relegated Premier League team tells The i Paper. “It may be an issue of quickly examining the possibility, but some will be more persistent than others. It could become a bit of a free-for-all.” The surprising mood inside rival Premier League clubs Bitter rivals United are also understood to be considering their options (Photo: Getty) Perhaps because of how long the case has dragged on for – or maybe because many of the executives, players and officials directly impacted by City in the period under investigation are no longer in the same roles – it has felt like there is little “glee” in the wider football world. Despite the “seismic” nature of the initial verdict – which, City say, is not the end of the process – the mood inside rival clubs feels less triumphant than it was among supporters on Friday. “It’s good that justice is seen to be done but there’s no winners here, only losers,” was how one Premier League executive described the feelings in his club. They pointed out that while City should be punished if found guilty, they were not the only club they felt were pushing the regulations to breaking point. Intra-club swap deals and mutually beneficial transfers were mentioned as areas that the Premier League had not managed to get a grip on. Another high-ranking official The i Paper spoke to said that he wanted any appeal process to be “time-barred” and said the City verdict rumbling for another two to three years was “bad for business”. “This process has already taken too long. It needs to be expedited in whatever way it can be,” they said. There is both relief and apprehension about Friday’s revelations. Clubs at all levels are still taking in the gravity of it all, and what it means for them. “It is hardly surprising news,” one Premier League insider tells The i Paper. “The question is, how valid is it all? We still haven’t heard from the Premier League, which is bringing the case. Has everyone jumped the gun? “City’s stance perhaps suggests that is the case. But I guess they would say that.” Read more Report: The mood inside Man City after 114 charges bombshell Explained: Three ways Man City could be punished – including the titles they could lose There is still a general weariness with this case. The fact it has dragged on so long has infuriated rivals, to the extent where they never believed a verdict would ever come. Last week’s development restored the faith in the case for some, but for others it was not enough. “What has changed, really?” another source who works with Premier League clubs tells The i Paper. “We are being told that the appeals process could take years. If anything, we just got a reminder of how frustrating this case is.”