Published : 26 Sep 2026, 10:52 AM
Updated : 26 Sep 2026, 10:52 AM
Premier League clubs are exploring possible compensation claims against Manchester City after reports that the club were found guilty of almost all of the financial-rule charges brought against them.
A number of top-flight clubs had already begun seeking legal advice before Friday’s reported verdict over whether they could recover financial losses linked to City’s breaches, according to BBC Sport.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein also reported that Premier League clubs were planning legal action, with lawyers already instructed and preparatory work under way before the outcome of City’s case became known.
Ornstein said any such action was expected to follow the appeals process.
No club has publicly filed a compensation claim.
However, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur had already taken formal legal steps to preserve their right to seek damages if City were found guilty.
The Times reported in November 2024 that the four clubs had formally registered possible compensation claims through arbitration before a potential limitation deadline. The Telegraph separately reported that Liverpool, Arsenal, United and Spurs had lodged legal notices protecting their ability to pursue damages.
The clubs had acted early because of concerns that any future claim could fall outside a potential six-year limitation period running from November 2018, when Der Spiegel first published the Football Leaks material.
City have since been reported guilty of almost all of the charges against them. The Athletic put the figure at 114 of 115, while BBC Sport and The Guardian have described the ruling more broadly as upholding a majority or almost all of the charges. The Premier League has yet to publish the commission’s written judgment or any sanction.
City maintain that the process remains ongoing and confidential and are expected to appeal.
For any rival club to recover damages, however, it would still need to show that City’s breaches caused a specific financial loss.
The Guardian cited sports lawyer Paul Stothard of Norton Rose Fulbright as saying possible claims could involve lost revenue, missed European qualification or relegation, but clubs would have to demonstrate both the impact on their ability to compete and the value of the loss.
Potential losses could include Premier League prize money, Champions League revenue or other commercial income linked to league position and European qualification.
Finishing behind City in a league table would not automatically entitle another club to damages. A claimant would still have to show a connection between City’s breaches and the loss it was seeking to recover.
There is already a significant Premier League precedent.
Earlier this year, an independent commission ordered Everton to pay Burnley £35.1 million after finding that Everton’s breach of the Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) in 2021-22 had caused Burnley a compensable loss following their relegation.
Burnley were awarded £26 million in damages and £9 million in interest. Everton have appealed the decision.
Burnley had argued that Everton gained an unfair sporting advantage from their overspending and that an earlier points deduction could have changed the outcome of the 2021-22 relegation battle.
City’s case is far broader, spanning several seasons and allegations involving financial reporting, sponsorship income, manager and player remuneration and cooperation with the Premier League investigation.
Any compensation action is unlikely to move quickly.
City are expected to appeal the findings, and Ornstein reports that rival clubs’ legal action would come after the appeals process.
