Manchester City‘s ongoing legal fight with the Premier League over sponsorship rules might not be settled until next year.
The dispute began in June 2024, when City challenged the Premier League’s Associated Party Transactions (APT) rules. According to media outlet The Lawyer, the case may not reach a tribunal until mid-October, pushing a final resolution into 2025.
One reason for the delay is how long the process typically takes. When City first challenged the rules, a panel first sat that June. An initial verdict came the following September, with the final ruling not delivered until the next February.
City’s 165-page legal complaint accused the Premier League of discrimination. Central to the case are the APT rules, which were brought in back in 2021 after the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) bought Newcastle United. These rules are designed to stop clubs with wealthy backers from completing inflated sponsorship and commercial deals that don’t reflect fair market value.
After a two-week arbitration process, the Premier League introduced three major changes to the APT rules, aimed at addressing some of City’s concerns.
These included reversing some of the amendments made earlier in the year, changing the way information from the league’s internal database is shared with club advisors, and introducing a new requirement for shareholder loans to be submitted as APTs, subject to fair market value checks.
Despite the changes, Manchester City, along with Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, voted against the updated rules at a shareholder meeting in November 2024. The other 16 clubs approved them.
It’s clear why City and Newcastle opposed the tweaks, they’re the most affected. With City already involved in another high-profile legal case concerning over 115 Premier League charges, and with a sizable legal budget, the club appears willing to stretch this out.
For the Premier League, the stakes are also high. The last case reportedly cost around £20m, and while the league may feel it won in some areas, many viewed the outcome as more favourable for City.
If the league is once again forced to amend its financial rules, it risks opening the floodgates. Clubs that feel they were unfairly punished under previous rules could seek compensation or challenge old decisions, potentially causing more disruption for English football’s top tier.
