Manchester City's rivals could each demand more than £100 million in compensation, it's claimed, after Burnley's landmark legal success against Everton.
Burnley's Compensation Victory
The Clarets have been awarded in excess of £35 million - plus interest - from Everton by an independent Premier League commission as compensation. Everton are appealing the decision, made after the commission concluded that the Merseysiders benefited from a sporting advantage for breaching Profitability and Sustainability Rules.
In the case, the commission awarded £26 million for losses due to relegation and £9.1 million in interest. According to the commission's judgment, the Toffees "accepted that its breach of the PSR conferred a sporting advantage but disputes both the extent and effect of that advantage."
Everton provided an expert who stated "that Burnley had suffered no financial loss following relegation." However, the Clarets' expert witness claimed they had lost £51.7 million before interest. Burnley's expert witness claimed the club had lost £51.7 million before interest.
Landmark Legal Precedent
It's a landmark case because under Premier League rules its clubs cannot sue each other through the courts - but they can do so through arbitration. Now, if City are ultimately found guilty of serious charges among their alleged 115 breaches of Premier League rules, it could be a very costly affair.
Four clubs - Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Spurs - served legal notices on City in 2024, reserving the right to seek compensation if City are found guilty. They served compensation notices after being advised by lawyers of a potential six year statute of limitation period, dating back to November 2018 - when the Football Leaks documents were first published by Der Spiegel, the German website.
Potential Compensation Claims
If that indeed does happen, it opens the door to compensation claims by those clubs, who can argue that the alleged breaches gave City sporting advantages over their rivals over numerous seasons, between 2009 and 2017.
According to The Times, sources involved in the process estimate some of those clubs "had calculated potential losses costing significantly more than £100 million" - down to income losses, not least missing out on the Champions League. If you add interest, as in the Everton case, that figure would rise substantially higher.
