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Every team in the Premier League, including Liverpool, could be in line for a significant compensation payout if Manchester City's legal tussle with the Premier League doesn't go the club's way.
In February 2023, the league's then-champion was hit with 115 alleged breaches of financial rules. City has staunchly refuted any allegations of misconduct and has been actively working to clear the club's name before an independent adjudicatory panel.
The hearings, conducted away from the public eye at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London, concluded toward the end of last year. A panel of three judges has been poring over the details, with a verdict yet to be announced. Speculation is rife that a guilty verdict for City could see fellow Premier League clubs pocketing hefty compensation sums.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire, speaking with TBR Football, suggested that Liverpool's ownership group, Fenway Sports Group, might consider the expense of legal action as worthwhile if it could lead to financial redress.
Maguire, who lectures on football finance at the University of Liverpool, also alluded to Everton's recent financial agreement with Leeds over lost revenue as potentially setting a precedent for future claims.
He remarked: "As far as Liverpool are concerned, the legal bill is the cost of doing business.
"They see themselves as one of the clubs who will have been significantly disadvantaged should Man City be found guilty. If we take into account the settlement between Everton and Leeds United, that could be significant precedent.
"But that is if City are found guilty – and that is a big if. And although you wouldn't expect them to say any different, all the noises I am getting from Manchester are very confident.
"If it's going to cost Liverpool £5M but they could potentially get much more if City are found guilty... They will have effectively worked it out on an insurance basis.
"It might be a short-term pain, long-term gain scenario. But the costs have certainly got out of control. Other costs have gone through the roof too, such as utilities and administration at club level."
When Sky Sports probed Richard Masters for an update on the dispute back in August, the Premier League chief executive remained tight-lipped. On why the English top-flight couldn't speed up the process, he said: "I can't answer that specific question.
"What I can tell you about is the system and how it works. I mean, it's an independent judiciary, essentially. So once the allegations, the charge has been put forward, they go before an independent panel, which is independently selected, and they are then in charge of the process and its timings.
"They hear the case, they decide the outcome, and we have no influence over that, over it or its timing. And that's right, if you think from an independence point of view, that there is independent people making those decisions, and we just have to be waiting."
Masters added: "My frustration is irrelevant, really. I mean, I just have to wait, and legal processes rarely take less time than you anticipated, but we have to be patient."
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