Premier League clubs set to trigger £800MILLION lawsuits against Man City

The Premier League's seismic victory over Manchester City will trigger a series of legal claims for as much as £800m – although the case itself may rumble on for another TWO YEARS, Daily Mail Sport understands.

On Friday, this newspaper reported how City had been found guilty of the ‘vast majority’ of the competition’s 115 charges against them for financial doping. It can now be disclosed that the Premier League has succeeded in proving all of the substantive claims.

On Saturday, the club hit back in the shape of a strong statement from chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who declared that they remain confident of clearing their name and ‘proving the club’s innocence’, - with an appeal seen as inevitable. In a letter to fans, he added: ‘we have faced challenges before and prevailed’.

Despite City’s stance, and while an official verdict remains unannounced, a quartet of rivals are understood to be already preparing their own legal cases.

In late 2024, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United served formal notices reserving their right to take action in the event that City – who could now face expulsion from the top flight - be found guilty.

Representatives have already begun putting together a case on how much they feel they have a claim for, pointing out that they have lost potential income on the back of City’s cheating.

It is thought that those who feel most badly done to, with Tottenham having missed out on a Champions League spot on a number of occasions, will ask for the biggest sums.

According to those with knowledge of the situation, £200m would not be an outrageous estimate.

However, City are expected to appeal a verdict that has sent shockwaves through football.

Aided by an expensively-assembled team of lawyers, they managed to overturn a two-year Champions League ban handed down by UEFA in 2020, after they were initially found to have committed ‘serious breaches’ of the governing body’s financial fair play regulations between 2012 to 2016.

That case was heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. While that route is not available to them given this is a Premier League case, there is an appeal process and both parties would need to be satisfied with the make-up of another three-person panel who would rule on whether the verdict is sound.

Against UEFA, City’s team was led by Paul Harris KC, along with Lord David Pannick KC. Legal experts have already noted that Pannick is viewed primarily as an appellate lawyer, who specialises in such matters. Given what is at stake, it is unlikely that City’s Abu Dhabi ownership will leave any stone unturned as they seek to overturn the judgement. Some within the legal industry believe that if the appeal fails they could head to the High Court, and have estimated that there may not be a conclusion for another two years.

In a lengthy statement, Al Mubarak seemed to make the suggestion that the process had not been fair. He asked fans to study a statement made on Friday by the club closely. That statement read: ‘The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.'

In his message to fans, he wrote: ‘The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began..

‘There are so many things that I would like to be able to share with you to help you understand why we feel so confident in our position. But the strict confidentiality of the legal process and our determination to respect it means I cannot do that at the moment. Even this letter underwent several legal checks to make sure it complies.

‘While some people have been quick to reach their own conclusions, and there is so much noise swirling around us, nothing has changed. We have faced challenges together before and have prevailed. There remain many who want to undermine the momentum of our club. We will not give them that opportunity.’