Manchester City and the Premier League have agreed a settlement over their long, drawn-out APT rules controversy.
For starters, no: this is not to do with the outstanding 115 charges still alleged against the local side; that’s to do with FFP.
In case you weren’t aware of the latest with this story, after winning a watershed court case against the English top flight last October regarding ‘Associated Party Transactions’ (APT) – an outcome with the Premier League contested – Man City have now put the case behind them.
Updating supporters on social media this week, the club revealed that the situation has now been resolved and is essentially over.
Sharing the update on social media, they gave a brief overview of how the debate related to transparency surrounding sponsorship deals and commercial dealings was finally concluded.
ADVERTISEMENT
A statement reads as follows: “The Premier League and Manchester City FC have reached a settlement in relation to the arbitration commenced by the club earlier this year concerning the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction, and as a result, the parties have agreed to terminate the proceedings.
“This settlement brings an end to the dispute between the parties regarding the APT Rules. As part of the settlement, Manchester City accepts that the current APT Rules are valid and binding.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It has been agreed that neither the Premier League nor the club will be making any further comment about the matter.
Although the decision was ultimately reached following extensive investigation by an independent commission, some are already speculating about what this could mean in terms of wider controversies surrounding the club. It’s also opened the door for them to resume partnerships already in the pipeline.
#ManCity have accepted the Premier League’s new ATP rules and have received assurances that they will not be treated differently when securing sponsorship with companies linked to their owners.
Manchester City are now able to complete a hugely lucrative, long-term deal with… pic.twitter.com/oqn9seWSbS
Conversely, the Premier League itself is yet to offer any public response of its own, with the assurance that the City Football Group (CFG) accepts that said APT Rules are “valid and binding” essentially being the final word.
ADVERTISEMENT
Many fans have been quick to question online whether this has any impact on the aforementioned FFP saga (don’t forget City’s 115 charges were actually increased to 130 back in December), but very little is still publicly known about the latter.
The hearing itself technically began this time last year, but we have yet to actually find out what the result was, despite the 10-week process ending in December.
Meanwhile, that isn’t the only concern for die-hard Blues of late…
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
8th September 2025 
