Liverpool and other Premier League clubs have been cautioned that a decision regarding Manchester City’s alleged 115 violations of the top flight’s financial regulations may not be reached until the 2025/26 season. Arne Slot’s team will aim to defend its title next year having wrapped up this year’s title with four games to spare.
In February 2023, the Premier League leveled charges against its then-champion for 115 supposed financial irregularities over nine seasons from 2009 to 2018. The allegations include claims that the club did not provide accurate financial data and failed to cooperate with investigations, all of which Manchester City vehemently denied and contested in a trial last year.
This leaves Liverpool and 18 other clubs waiting to learn the verdict. And they could have severe implications for their major rivals and the league as a whole if penalties are imposed.
The saga has unfolded without a specified end date due to the unprecedented nature of the proceedings. However, spring 2025 was suggested as a potential conclusion when the trial wrapped up last December, with comments from Pep Guardiola further fueling expectations that an outcome was imminent.
Now, Maxime van den Dijssel, a sports and litigation lawyer at Brandsmiths, speaking to The i Paper, has suggested that the case could extend into the summer, close to the start of the new season. “There is such a big media frenzy around it that people have almost forgotten that this is what happens quite regularly in arbitration,” she clarified.
“Arbitrators won’t necessarily pay attention to the frenzy around it [the case]. They’ll have a lot of material to get through, the stakes are very high and they need to cover all bases. They won’t want to leave any room for either side to argue there is procedural unfairness.
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“They will take that little bit longer to render a decision. It doesn’t necessarily indicate it’s going one way or another, it’s more a matter of them doing their job as carefully as possible.”
Despite the end date being closer than ever before, the potential for an appeal from the losing side has consistently been a realistic possibility throughout the process, which could further delay any final outcome.
Van den Dijssel concluded: “It does lead us into a position where we might not have a decision until leading into next season and then, subject to appeals, there’s going to be a lot of uncertainty about their placement in the league, how it impacts other clubs in the competition, so there is a lot we still don’t know.”
“I’m not surprised it’s taking this long,” she remarked. “It’s common for things to take this long. They have to all effectively sit in a room and decide and go through it, and when there’s that much material, it makes sense that it would take this long.”
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This situation is far from ideal for those directly involved who are keen to put this case to rest, and as hinted, it’s not in Liverpool’s best interests either.
The Reds, under Slot’s management, are the reigning Premier League champions and are anticipated to be active in the upcoming summer transfer market. Meanwhile, provided City aren’t found guilty, The i reports that Guardiola and new sporting director Hugo Viana have plans underway to rejuvenate their ageing squad.
After splashing out around $240 million (£180 million) in the recent January window, it seems the spending spree isn’t over, with Kevin de Bruyne among the senior stars expected to leave. Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz are identified as high-value targets.
Liverpool.com says: Everyone just wants a verdict to emerge at this stage. Even then, though, there will not be clarity. An appeals process will be long and will only drag things on further, if it comes to that, which seems like a distinct possibility.
