Man City handed 115 charges update as financial advisor 'reveals' public verdict date

Manchester City are still awaiting a verdict following their legal battle with the Premier League

Former Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson believes the club will find out the outcome of their legal battle with the Premier League by Christmas after they were charged for allegedly breaching 115 financial regulations back in early 2023. Pep Guardiola's side have strongly denied any wrongdoing and have been in an ongoing legal battle with the top flight's governing body for some time.

City were charged by the Premier League for allegedly breaching financial rules over the course of a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018. They, along with the rest of English football are still awaiting a verdict despite their independent hearing taking place a year ago.

No public decision has been made by the independent commission and Borson, who has previously made the claim City could be relegated if found guilty, believes a judgement could be announced by Christmas this year.

Speaking on talkSPORT radio alongside Jim White and Simon Jordan, the club's former financial advisor Borson said: "I think Simon thinks it's going to come out next year, I think it still could come out before Christmas.

"The decision has been imminent for quite some time, there's not a lot that they can do. It doesn't take that long."

Borson previously claimed the independent commission, not City or the Premier League, were responsible for the delay after the hearing started 14 months ago.

He said: "Well, look, nobody knows because even the parties themselves expected to have been told by now. All the lawyers are surprised there is no decision at this stage, and that's on both sides.

"I'll tell you who's holding it up - the panel making the decision. They hold the pen. They are the people who everybody waits for to deliver the decision.

"Well, nobody knows. We know the long list - you can cobble it together from all of the people on the judicial panel - but we don't know who is on that list.

"We can make some guesses that it's probably two lawyers and maybe one accountant. But we don't know who is on the panel and what they were told to produce by when.

"We can now assume I think, given how long it has been and that everybody is so surprised that they don't have a decision, that actually there's very little guidance given to them and they weren't effectively paid for their time from the moment the case ended.

"Arguably the Premier and Manchester City together, with the panel, should have agreed a process whereby the hearing ends and then effectively they are exclusively paid to deliberate and produce, over let's say three months or at worst six months, the decision during the closed season."

Guardiola's side were also in a dispute with the Premier League regarding the rules governing associated party transactions (APT) but reached a settlement earlier this year.

City accepted the regulations were valid and binding, before both parties agreed to terminate legal proceedings in September.