The Premier League on the ropes: City wins a million-dollar legal battle

Manchester City dealt another severe blow to the Premier League with a court ruling that portrays the competition led by CEO Richard Masters. The lawsuit concerns the APT regulation (Transactions between Associated Parties) implemented by the Premier between October 2021 and November 2024 to prevent clubs like City and Newcastle from gaining extra benefits from sponsorships linked to their owners.

The rule penalized allegedly inflated contracts that generated fictitious income to increase each institution's investment in signings. Months ago, Masters defended the regulation, although he admitted that there were several points that "needed to be reviewed and modified". During the three and a half years that the regulation was in effect, City lost at least two lucrative sponsorship deals.

City puts the Premier on the ropes with a historic ruling

In this regard, the English courts ruled in favor of the Manchester club, considering that "the APT regulations were illegal in their entirety". This means an immediate compensation of 24 million euros that the league must pay to the 'sky blue' team, a figure that could increase significantly based on the sponsorships that the club can prove to have lost illegally due to the APT rules.

Furthermore, the 'Daily Mail' reports that the court ruling could pave the way for a wave of lawsuits from other clubs against the Premier. "Any agreement that has been rejected or reduced in value under the APT system could now be subject to substantial compensations," explains the English newspaper. Thus, the English Premier Division may be left on the ropes, awaiting the final ruling related to the 130 charges brought against City for alleged violations of financial 'Fair Play'.