Manchester City look to have been handed a boost in their fight against the 115 Premier League charges levelled against them with sponsors Etihad Airways set to be floated on the stock exchange, according to new reports.
City were charged with 115 alleged breaches of the top-flight's financial rules in February 2023 at the culmination of a sweeping four-year investigation.
Mail Sport revealed in November that the Premier League and City had agreed to begin the long-awaited disciplinary case this autumn, with pressure to progress ramping up in light of the recent charges against Everton and Nottingham Forest.
The lucrative sponsorship deal between City and Etihad, which began in the summer of 2011, was part of the allegations lodged against last season's Treble winners.
Der Spiegel claimed that the airline was paying only £8million of their £67.5m obligation to City, with the rest of the amount allegedly covered by disguised equity funding from the club's Abu Dhabi owners - a breach of both league and UEFA rules.
However, new reports in the Middle East have claimed that Etihad could now be set for an Initial Public Offering. The Mirror have confirmed that, as part of the process, the company would need to disclose their financial accounts in full.
But stock market insiders believe that Etihad would be unwilling to grant the unfettered access if they had a smoking gun proving fraud had been committed.
'If it came to light that Etihad executives were indeed involved in manipulating the sponsorship deal with City, it could cause serious damage to the company's reputation in the eyes of potential investors,' a banking figure told The Mirror.
Etihad would also be obligated to disclose any ongoing investigations into their finances or wider conduct before the IPO was officially floated.
The Premier League have previously accused City of using delaying tactics to stall the probe, but Richard Masters confirmed that a date had been set for the trial.
The Premier League's CEO, however, refused to say when it will take place.
Masters has also maintained that the 'volume and character' of the charges laid against City, who have steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, 'are being held in a completely different environment' from those of Forest and Everton.
David Bernstein, City's chairman between 1998 and 2003, has urged the top-flight to 'get a move on' and reach a belated conclusion to the alleged financial breaches.
'I don't know how they assess the situation,' he told Sky Sports News. 'You'd have to take it extremely seriously and you'd have to have contingency plans.
'But I think the key thing for me about this is speed and timing. It shouldn't be allowed to go on forever.
City have vehemently denied the allegations.