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Liverpool dragged into Man City feud with Premier League amid £100m twist
Liverpool are the latest club to find themselves dragged into Man City’s historic legal battle with the Premier League.
City are currently involved in two distinct but related cases with the Premier League – one involving the 115 charges levelled at the club in 2023 and another about associated party transactions (APT).
An independent commission is expected to convene in November to deliberated the 115 charges, which the Premier League argue gave City an unfair advantage over the likes of Liverpool.
In what is widely seen as a counterpunch against the Premier League, City have launched a separate legal case against the institution’s rules that govern its clubs’ commercial operations.
Essentially, City want to kill the regulations that stipulate that every sponsorship deal signed by Premier League clubs must be assessed for its conformity with ‘fair market value’.
City argue that the rules, which were established in the wake of the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s takeover of Newcastle in 2021, unfairly discriminate against Gulf state-owned clubs.
Liverpool are widely understood to be one of the club, alongside the likes of Tottenham and Arsenal, who are siding with the Premier League in the case.
That could prove significant given that every club in the top flight will have the opportunity to give evidence in the case, which is currently ongoing.
Now, the latest update has further entangled Liverpool in the unprecedented feud.
Man City concerned by Liverpool partner’s involvement in APT rules
As reported by The , City have raised concerns that the APR rules are being enforced by world-renowned data company Nielsen Sports.
The New York-headquartered company have commercial relationships with several Premier League clubs, including Liverpool.
Critics of City’s inference of a conflict of interest regarding the APT rules have pointed out that the group handling the data are, for all intents and purposes, a separate corporate entity from Nielsen.
It has also been highlighted that Nielsen are a multi-billion dollar company whose reputation would be destroyed if they were found to have exhibited bias for the sake of a relatively minor commercial link.
Per The Guardian, Man City’s £100m upswing in commercial income for 2022-23 prompted scrutiny given the size of their global fanbase compared to the likes of Liverpool and Man United.
- READ MORE LIVERPOOL FINANCE NEWS: Liverpool and Newcastle owners in talks with £100m off-pitch deal already agreed
Why Liverpool oppose to changes APT rules
While City have been the most financially successful club in the Premier League in recent years, their business model is very different to Liverpool’s.
The Abu Dhabi owners have historically been perfectly willing to bankroll huge losses in order to deliver success on the pitch, whereas Fenway Sports Group operate a sustainability-first system on Merseyside.
City are also financed in part through a number of ultra-lucrative sponsorship deals with groups associated with their owners in Etihad, Etisalat and Midea.
Importantly, these deals have all been deemed to meet the Premier League’s fair market value threshold, just as those signed by Newcastle United and Chelsea have in recent years.
But it does illustrate why City would want the APT rules lifted so they can maximise their revenue via this stream, whereas Liverpool continue to go to the wider market when courting sponsors.