Premier League Officially Warns Clubs: Last Season’s Financial Disputes Accumulated Expenses Exceeding One Million Pounds

On September 26, the Premier League officially warned all Premier League clubs that due to various financial disputes last season, the legal expenses of the Premier League exceeded 45 million pounds. The specific accounts will be distributed to each club in the form of documents before the shareholders’ meeting held in London on Thursday local time.

It is understood that the clubs involved in financial disputes include Manchester City, Everton, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, and Leicester City. After a lengthy four-year investigation, the Premier League’s independent committee has also held hearings on 115 charges against Manchester City. Currently, the hearing has just entered its second week, with an expected duration of up to 10 weeks.

At the shareholders’ meeting held on Thursday, the participating Premier League clubs will be informed of the results of Manchester City’s legal proceedings regarding the Premier League’s Associated Party Transactions (APT). The Premier League’s APT policy began in December 2021, aiming to prevent clubs from using inflated sponsorship agreements with sponsors and ensuring that players can be traded at normal market prices when the same person controls multiple clubs. If the final arbitration result favors Manchester City, the APT rules will be modified and will be notified to the Premier League clubs at that time.

Premier League CEO Richard Masters said, “Any sporting event needs to abide by established rules and regulations; there are no other options.”

According to previous reports, the legal budget of the Premier League was only 8 million pounds, but now the costs have risen significantly. It is understood that the Premier League’s CEO, Chad Masters, may explain the cost increase by referring to various cases in recent years and emphasizing the importance of maintaining rules and regulations.