Manchester City held settlement talks with the Premier League before guilty verdict, Bloomberg reports
According to Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter, Manchester City and the Premier League held early settlement talks before an independent commission found the club guilty of breaching financial rules. The talks reportedly collapsed because City consistently maintained its innocence; a settlement would have centred on a sizeable payment rather than relegation or title removal. City has appealed, and a verdict is expected by early February.
Bottom line — A settlement would likely have only reduced the case, not resolved it, and City's appeal verdict is expected by early February.
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The commission found City artificially inflated results by more than €1.04 billion (£900 million) between 2009 and 2018, according to GiveMeSport and the Manchester Evening News.
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The Straits Times, citing Bloomberg, reported that a settlement would have resembled bank settlements after the financial crisis, which involved large fines without admissions of wrongdoing.
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Bloomberg reported that Arsenal and Liverpool would likely have vehemently opposed any settlement, since both lost titles during City's period of success.
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SPORTbible reported the commission found several club witnesses gave false or dishonest evidence, a finding City has not addressed in its own statement.
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City said in its statement that the opinion contains clear material errors of law, principle and fact, and that it has comprehensive irrefutable evidence in its favour.
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Manager Enzo Maresca said he trusts the club's owners completely, while Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, a former City assistant, declined to discuss the case beyond saying his conscience was clear.
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Football365 noted that a leading sports lawyer had questioned City's high-risk approach to the case earlier, a point it linked to the sanctions decision still to come.