Man City facing £800m-plus bill as Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool and Spurs to SUE rivals

Manchester City are already set to face sanctions from the Premier League pending an appeal, but it appears that a number of rival clubs are readying legal action against them

Rival clubs are now queueing up to take legal action against Manchester City.

And it could result in clubs ganging up together and join a class action as they seek huge damages after City were found guilty of breaching Premier League spending rules.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham reserved their right to sue with legal notices beyond the statute of limitations had passed.

But the nature of the 40 page legal document published by the Premier League showed the depth of the case against City and also opened the door to clubs taking action.

City were accused of making “sham” contracts, were accused of inflating £900m worth of deals and “widespread” deception and the allegations of fraud means there is more scope to backdate actions.

Clubs could sue for damages after missing out on a Champions League place, teams who were relegated could argue they would have survived in 18th place and also on commercial deals.

Sports barrister Yasin Patel, of Church Court Chambers, said: “Four teams have stated they will take legal action but other teams are likely to follow suit.

“In 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, Norwich and Hull finished 18th respectively. They could argue that, had the Premier League taken action, they may not have been relegated. This is a complex argument, but it illustrates how some clubs may seek compensation.

“If these two clubs were to make this argument, it could be said that Manchester City should not have to pay both as only one could possibly have benefitted had City been ultimately relegated.

“The clubs would have to prove that Man City’s alleged actions caused them to ultimately suffer losses due to relegation and the financial implications that followed.

“It would probably be easier for teams who were relegated to make this argument collectively rather than individually.

“The teams could also turn their wrath on the Premier League and argue that if they had done their investigations and subsequent hearings more expeditiously, then Manchester City would not have been able to continue in their actions.

“Other teams that may take actions could include those who lost out on European football, either because of Manchester City taking a Champions League spot, meaning that they ultimately were outside the European places, or because they missed out on Europe after failing to win cup competitions. In 2010-2011 and 2018-2019 this was Wigan and Watford: they too may seek compensation.”

It has been estimated that Arsenal, United, Liverpool and Tottenham could be in line for £200m each because of damages when it comes to missing out on success, commercial deals and Champions League places.

There is a belief the money will run into “vast sums” especially compared to previous individual cases. Everton were ordered to pay Burnley £35m in damages after Burnley were relegated following an Everton Profit and Sustainability breach.

Patel added: “Damages are hard to predict as we do not know many clubs will seek compensation, nor whether they will seek it solely from Manchester City or potentially from the Premier League as well, allegedly failing to properly discharge its duties.

“Everton were ordered to pay £35million to Burnley in compensation for losses suffered due to Everton’s breach of Profit & sustainability Rules.

“The appeal is due to be heard in January. But that involves just one club. If we have 10 to 15 clubs seeking compensation, Manchester City could be looking at paying vast sums to other clubs in addition to all the legal costs that could follow.”