Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham told Man City 115 charges timeline reality amid compensation threat

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has warned Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur that a final resolution to Manchester City's ongoing legal battle with the Premier League may not be reached for several years.

The current champions face allegations of breaching the Premier League's Financial Fair play rules over a period spanning nine years from 2009 to 2018, while also accused of not co-operating with the league's inquiry. Although initially charged with 115 offences in 2023, it's believed the figure could be closer to 130.

Manchester City have categorically rejected the claims, insisting they have irrefutable evidence in their defence. Pep Guardiola, the manager of City, hinted a possible outcome could arrive in March, but this timeframe has elapsed, shifting expectations towards a summer disclosure.

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City, during the years in question, secured three Premier League crowns, and vigorously contest all accusations levelled by the Premier League hierarchy.

Speaking about the recent hold-up in proceedings, Maguire provided his insights to : "I was in the company of 300 sports lawyers a few nights ago and as you can imagine, this was hot topic. The conclusion was that there's an awful lot of evidence to review.

"What they seem to think will be the case, is there will be a judgement as to whether Man City are innocent or guilty of the individual charges and then there will be a separate announcement, which could take considerable amount of time, in which we will find out the punishment, if any.

"We don't know if Manchester City are innocent or they'll be proven guilty of any of the charges. There'll likely be a further wait before the tariff is announced and we find out whether it's a financial penalty or a points deduction, nuclear option which would be kicking them out of the league but I think most people think it's unlikely.

"You then come to a further issue, if they are found guilty, could other clubs say they have suffered loss as a result. You can't prove it perfectly, but what you could probably sue for is some sort of insurance value because we saw in the Carlos Tevez case in 2005, I think it was about £16million when they were relegated and Tevez kept West Ham up."

Maguire went on to suggest that Derby County's legal settlement with Wycombe Wanderers and Middlesbrough, following their breach of the EFL's Financial Fair Play Rules, might set a precedent for Premier League clubs seeking compensation, should City be found guilty.

The Rams would settle with former Wycombe owner Rob Couhig who wanted compensation for Wycombe's relegation in the 2020-21 campaign, while Derby stayed up on the final-day following 3-3 draw with Sheffield Wednesday. Boro also felt that they missed out on a spot in the Championship play-offs in 2018-19, with both Boro and Wycombe agreeing to a settlement with Derby.

Maguire recalled: "We saw two or three years ago when Derby County were accused of unusual accounting, effectively breaking PSR, that both Derby and Wycombe Wanderers came to a financial settlement as a result of that. It wasn't what they were asking for."

Determining compensation in such situations can be complex, taking into account various variables. Maguire detailed the process: "But the way that you would normally work this out, I think Middlesbrough finished seventh and Derby finished sixth, if Derby hadn't done what they'd done, Middlesbrough would have finished sixth, can you prove that?".

Considering the potential play-off position and subsequent chance of promotion to the Premier League, the calculation involves assessing the estimated monetary value of that promotion.

According to Maguire: "If Middlesbrough had got into the play-offs they would've got on average a 20 per cent chance, because they were the bottom club in the play-offs, a 20 per cent chance of the money from the Premier League. You work that out and say this would be the additional cost of going to the Premier League, what would an insurance tell you?".

He clarified that such agreements, such as the one between Derby and Wycombe, are typically negotiated between the clubs' owners: "That was agreed between the two owners [of Derby and Wycombe] rather than the club itself."

Given the recent allegations against Manchester City for Financial Fair Play breaches over a longer period, Maguire pointed out the possibility of more clubs pursuing financial compensation should the reigning champions be found guilty. "You've got nine years, in which a side finishing fifth in the Premier League could claim they missed out on a Champions League place," Maguire remarked.

"We've got nine years in which a club could say they would have won the Premier League because they finished in second and 'if we'd won the Premier League we would have got a bonus from Adidas, a bonus from our sponsors for this, we get more money from UEFA for winning the Premier League as well.'"

"They put in a claim and as far as the legal consequences - if Manchester City lose, the legal issues have only just started, they have not finished."

When asked about the possibility of Manchester City being responsible for footing the bill for potential compensation claims from other clubs, Maguire responded, "Potentially. Again, listening to the lawyers, you're looking at another two, three or four years worth of work.

"Burnley have just done that against Everton from two years ago and that's been rumbling through. That's just one club against one club. You could have a dozen clubs or a dozen claims against Manchester City.

"There are no winners here apart from the lawyers, I think the integrity of the game has suffered and reputation."