In a surprising turn at the end of the Premier League shareholders’ meeting this week, Simon Cliff, Manchester City’s legal head, reportedly stunned fellow club chiefs.
It’s claimed that while not pinpointing specific clubs, Cliff expressed concerns regarding the motives behind recent voting patterns to Alison Brittain, the Premier League chairwoman, and insisted his comments be recorded in the meeting minutes.
Post-meeting discussions among club executives were said to be dominated by Cliff’s remarks, which were added to the ‘any other business’ agenda item, according to the Liverpool Echo. This episode unfolds as anticipation builds over the resolution of City’s legal tussle with the Premier League. Having faced accusations of committing 115 breaches of financial regulations in February 2023, the Etihad outfit has consistently contested the charges, with a verdict due imminently.
City’s manager Pep Guardiola was queried for an update on Friday and remarked, “No, no. We are more than one year in with this, so nothing changes with one more week or two more weeks… or three more weeks or four more weeks.”
Even at last month’s Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit, when pressurised to comment on the awaited decision regarding City’s situation, Premier League CEO Richard Masters chose to remain equivocal rather than provide a timeline for a potential verdict.
“You won’t be surprised to hear that I won’t be talking about this. I can’t,” he declared. “I mean, the disciplinary panel has heard the case – and they must be left alone now to consider their decision and given the time and space to be able to do that. That is as pretty much as far as I can go.”
(Image: PA)
With the sporting world still awaiting a verdict in the City case, Guardiola’s attention is solely on the pitch, with the head coach tearing into his own team for their performances this season.
The four-in-a-row champions look set to miss out on a top-four place this season and could end without any silverware, with the FA Cup City’s only hope. And Guardiola says neither him, his staff or his players deserve any bonus if they win it.
He said on Friday: “We don’t deserve a bonus this season. The bonus, if you win, I don’t know how much, it’s for the club. The managers, the backroom staff, the players, we don’t deserve – not even a watch.”
