Manchester City financial charges may have cost rivals £799.5m
Key takeaways
- BBC Sport puts the total impact on rival clubs at £799.5m.
- Hull, Swansea and Newcastle top the list of hit clubs.
- City deny wrongdoing and have appealed the verdict.
Manchester City face claims they cost rivals £799.5m. BBC Sport put that number on the impact. It covers lost prize money, Europe cash, and relegation.
The number is an estimate, not a proven bill. City deny wrongdoing and have appealed.
What happened
In 2023, the Premier League charged Manchester City. The charges covered the years 2009 to 2018. An independent panel heard the case. It found City guilty on 114 of 115 charges.
The case centred on sponsor money. The panel said City used sham contracts. These deals hid the true source of funds.
City say they did nothing wrong. The club has appealed the verdict.
City won three league titles in that period. The club also won one FA Cup. It won three EFL Cups too.
Those wins brought big prize money. BBC Sport asked what rivals lost. It looked at 35 other top-flight clubs.
Every one could have lost money.
The BBC total is £799.5m. It has four parts. Place money adds £188.2m.
Relegation costs add £349.7m. Missed Champions League cash adds £217.8m. Cup games add £43.8m.
City earned £1.17bn in the same period. That sum covers league, Europe, and cups.
Why it matters
Relegation is the biggest cost. When a club drops down, it loses TV cash. The BBC used a simple method.
It took the prize money of the 20th club. Then it took off the first parachute payment. Parachute payments are cash for relegated clubs.
They soften the blow of going down. The rest is the net loss.
Hull lost the most from relegation. The club went down twice in the period. That cost £93.78m.
Place money added £5.2m more. The total hit for Hull is £99m. Swansea are next at £63.1m.
Relegation cost them £54m. Place money added £9.1m. Newcastle lost £60.4m after going down in 2016. Norwich lost £43.8m.
Wigan lost £39.6m. Burnley lost £31.1m. Bolton lost £26.4m.
Birmingham lost £25.1m.
City took at least four points off each 18th-place club. Birmingham were the one exception. Those points can decide who stays up.
One spot can mean millions of pounds.
Europe is the second big cost. Clubs that miss the Champions League lose big money. Tottenham missed out four times.
City earned £148.2m from Europe in those seasons. Spurs earned £29.9m from the Europa League. The gap is huge.
The total net loss for Spurs is £119.9m. One season hurt most. In 2014-15, the gap was £53.5m.
Chelsea missed out once, in 2017-18. City earned £79.2m from Europe that year. Chelsea won the Europa League and earned £39.4m. The gap left Chelsea £39.8m short.
Everton missed out in 2013-14. Their gap was £32.6m. Arsenal missed out in 2016-17. Their gap was £22.1m. Manchester United missed out in 2015-16. Their gap was only £4.8m.
League places add smaller sums. Each place in the table pays prize money. The value of one place rose over time.
In 2010-11, it was £755,881. By 2016-17, it was £1.94m. Everton, Liverpool, and Stoke finished below City nine times. Each could claim £10.7m in place money.
Liverpool's total impact is £48.5m. Place money accounts for £10.6m of that. The rest comes from a cup final.
Liverpool lost the 2016 EFL Cup final to City. That loss cost a Europa League place. The BBC used Manchester United's Europa League win as a guide.
United earned £37.8m from that win.
The BBC stresses one key point. Its figures show chance, not proof. No club can prove it would have stayed up.
No club can prove it would have reached Europe. The study is not a claim for compensation. It leaves out future earnings.
It leaves out sponsor bonuses. It leaves out player pay effects.
Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino spoke about the case. "We have lived through a period of deception," he said. "No type of punishment will make it possible to repair what was done.
"
What happens next
No punishment has been set yet. A sanctions hearing will decide the punishment. The same three-person panel will hear it.
The Premier League will ask for sanctions. City's lawyers will argue their side. Both sides can appeal the sanctions decision.
City lodged their appeal on October 1. New rules say the appeal must be heard fast. It must finish by mid-December. The hearing can last up to five days.
A decision comes within 30 days after that. Sky Sports reports the appeal faces long odds. City cannot bring new proof.
They cannot call new witnesses.
Four clubs started legal steps in 2024. They are Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Tottenham. They could seek compensation if the verdict stands. The size of any payout is still unclear.
Other clubs want strong action. BBC Sport reports some clubs want more than one season of punishment. Some want transfer bans over several windows.
A points deduction split over seasons is also on the table. Stripping titles is another option. Expulsion from the league is the harshest option.
On the pitch, City keep winning. City beat Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on October 11. The win kept City top of the table. City have 18 points from six games.
Fans at Anfield held banners against City. Gary Neville told Sky Sports the case is bad for the league. "This is really bad for the Premier League," he said.
Fans in Australia follow English football too. They also watch their own clubs in big games. See our Newcastle Jets vs Gamba Osaka preview.
In other sports news, a practice court row hit tennis in Shanghai. It shows how fast small rows can grow.
The next two months will shape the outcome. The appeal comes first. Sanctions follow after that.
Until then, every City result carries a question mark. Rival clubs wait. Fans wait.
The final bill is still unknown.
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