Stefan Borson drops verdict on how Premier League clubs will react if Man City deal is part of settlement agreement
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James Murray
Thu 18 September 2025 7:00, UK
Premier League clubs would be “up in arms” if Manchester City’s deal with Etihad Airways is waved through as part of their settlement agreement.
Man City have been in a battle with the Premier League over the past year regarding the associated party transaction (APT) rules.
Man City have now reached a settlement with the Premier League, with The Times reporting on 8 September Pep Guardiola’s side are in line to complete a “hugely lucrative” long-term deal with Etihad Airways as a result.
Man City could land up to £1.5billion from their new 10-year deal with the state-owned Abu-Dhabi airline after it was initially blocked in 2023 for not being fair-market value under the APT rules.
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider it would be a breach of the rules if the Premier League waved the deal through as part of the settlement agreement.
Following amendments by the Premier League, the Manchester giants challenged the APT rules again in February this year before the parties came to a settlement last week.
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Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Etihad Airways deal, Borson said: “In today’s terms, it’s probably £100-110million a year.
“But by the time you get to the end of the term, it will be much higher because of the way the compounding and annexation works.
“I don’t think that the Premier League just says, well, we’ll just wave this through for you as part of the settlement.
“I can’t see how that could be a fair thing for the Premier League to do for the other clubs.
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“I think the other clubs would be up in arms, and I think it would be challengeable by the other clubs if that was the case because it would be a clear breach of the rules.
“I think in all likelihood City had the Etihad agreement agreed by the Premier League’s existing processes in advance of the settlement and then thought, well, we’ve got that bit locked in, we can now probably go ahead with settling this.”
In their latest published accounts for 2023-24, Man City’s turnover increased by £2.2m to £715m, with £344.7m of commercial revenue boosting that figure.
In a separate legal battle, Man City are still waiting to hear the verdict in their 115 charges case.
Man City were dealt 115 charges by the Premier League in February 2023 for allegedly breaching the financial fair play (FFP) rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018.