Former Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has claimed that the start of Manchester City's dominance cost his old club around £70m in wage budget after they finished fifth in the 2011/12 Premier League season.
City were reported to have been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League, although no official statement has been released by the league, as City continue to insist they are innocent. Pardew has harked back to that campaign when Newcastle missed out on the Champions League, with City crowned champions.
Champions League miss and financial impact
The Magpies would still have been denied a Champions League place as Chelsea won the European Cup and only three teams via the Premier League qualified that year. But Pardew could argue that the six points taken from Newcastle that season could have still earned them a higher finish, with Arsenal finishing in third spot and five points ahead.
As it turned out, Newcastle ended up in the Europa League and, despite reaching the quarter-finals, Pardew's squad struggled to cope with the rigours of Europe and the domestic scene, with the Londoner hanging on to his job as United finished just above the relegation zone in 2012/13.
Pardew's estimate of lost revenue
Pardew – who was talking about the knock-on effect of City's dominance – told Talksport: “I'm guessing it would be about £70million difference to Newcastle's wage bill that would have impacted us brilliantly.
“The teams that have lost out because of the financial benefits that Manchester City have had i.e getting bigger squads, getting great squads, winning titles, etc.
“It (Champions League revenue) must be a minimum £120million now. But I think going back to those years, I'm guessing it would be about a £70million difference to Newcastle's wage bill that would have impacted us brilliantly the year after when we was in Europe.”
Disappointment over the news release
Pardew has also complained about the way the news reached football fans and feels that the Premier League or City will be happy with the resultant media storm.
Pardew said: “We were in the Europa League. We didn't get into the Champions League because we finished fifth and therefore the financial benefit was hardly anything.
“So massively of course (I am disappointed), and the (Newcastle) players who missed out.
“It impacted me on a personal level. But I don't think players and managers are all going to be like, ‘Oh, it's affected my career’. Lawyers are going to win here, whichever way you look at it, because this is going to rumble on until we come to some sort of conclusion.
“I am very, very disappointed with the way it's come out. I'm sure Manchester City are even more disappointed the way it's been put out there.”
