Stefan Barson drops verdict on Man City 115 charges
Manchester City are unlikely to receive huge damages despite successfully proving some of the associated party transaction (APT) rules are unlawful.
That is the view of former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider it will be difficult for the English champions to prove the rules led to them making a significant loss in their attempts to strike a new sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways.
Man City took legal action against the Premier League regarding the APT rules currently in place at an arbitration hearing in June.
Both sides have claimed a victory in the case after the arbitration panel’s decision was published on 7 October, where two aspects of the rules were deemed to be unlawful.
Man City are now eligible to seek damages on any lost earnings following the ruling.
A significant part of the case was Pep Guardiola’s side striking a lucrative extension to their deal with Etihad, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government through the wealth fund ADQ.
Man City need to prove APT rules caused substantial losses
Borson revealed the difference between what has been approved by the Premier League and the deal Man City are seeking with Etihad is less than £100million.
“I suspect City will probably not get material damages,” Borson told Football Insider.
“The likelihood is that some form of deal will be done that the Premier League accept is fair market value.
“It’s really just a bit of a negotiation around what size it is.
“It looks like the total difference over the full period of the proposed deal with Etihad is less than £100million over the entire deal in terms of what has been approved and what City want.
“City have got to prove the things that were unlawful were the things that caused the loss, the difference between what they could have done had it all been in a lawful way in terms of processing by the Premier League and what actually was carried out.
Stefan Ortega #18 of Manchester City plays in the second half of a pre-season match against Chelsea at Ohio Stadium on August 03, 2024 in Columbus,…
Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images
Manchester City will count themselves fortunate to have a second-choice goalkeeper of the calibre of Stefan Ortega on their books.
During his one and only season at Barcelona, Ilkay Gundogan lauded Ortega by going as far as to say that he is “the most underrated goalkeeper in the world.”
Clinton Morrison claimed Ortega proved Jurgen Klopp wrong by emerging as the best number two in the Premier League — a claim the former Liverpool boss reserved for Caoimhin Kelleher.
Erling Haaland also described Ortega as “incredible” after he saved City’s blushes during their 2-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur last season by keeping Son Heung-min’s famous close-range effort from bypassing him.
Gary Neville labelled Ortega as “outstanding” as well as Pep Guardiola’s men narrowly defeated Spurs.
The German has been widely praised since signing for Manchester City in 2022 and rightfully so.
Stefan Ortega, goalkeeper of Manchester City warms up before the UEFA Champions League match between Manchester City and Rb Leipzig at Etihad Stadi…
Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Stefan Ortega confirms Man City future
Earlier this month, it was reported that Ortega would consider leaving Manchester City if he remained the club’s number two behind Ederson Moraes as he intends to become Germany’s first-choice goalkeeper — sensing an opportunity to do so after Manuel Neuer’s retirement and Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s knee injury.
Shortly after, it was claimed that Manchester City will reject offers for Ortega in January.
Speaking to Sky Germany, the 31-year-old put any rumours about his future at the Etihad Stadium to bed by confirming that he intends to stay at City.
“Still in Manchester, I feel very comfortable there. At the moment, there is little reason to leave Manchester again.”
“I have now played 37 [36] competitive games in the last two years — that’s not a number for a typical number two. I get a lot of appreciation, even if it doesn’t always come across like that in the games.”
After extending his contract until 2026 in the summer, Ortega revealed Scott Carson advised him to stay at Manchester City — stressing that “the grass isn’t greener” at other clubs.
Jack Grealish expressed his delight at Ortega’s contract extension by commenting, “what a man” on his Instagram post.
Pep Guardiola also hailed Ortega as “incredible” — as the former Arminia Bielefeld shotstopper seems to be admired at the Etihad Stadium.
How many clean sheets Ortega has kept at Man City
During his spell at City, as the two-time Premier League winner stated, he has played more minutes than perhaps initially expected.
Ederson has suffered some injuries since Ortega’s arrival coupled with the fact that Pep Guardiola seems to trust him in between the sticks. Here is a statistical breakdown of the number of clean sheets Ortega has kept across in competitive fixtures all competitions during his time at Manchester City.
ORTEGA CLEAN SHEETS AT MAN CITY- ALL COMPETITIONS
COMPETITION MATCHES CLEAN SHEETS
PREMIER LEAGUE 15 6
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 6 2
FA CUP 12 9
CARABAO CUP 5 1
In 18 matches across all competitions, Ortega has kept 18 clean sheets at an impressive 50% rate.
Such a statistic in question goes to show how reliable he is.
Manchester City will be delighted to hear that Ortega has decided to stay at the club.
If Ortega had not made such an admission, rumours would have continued to circulate about his future at City.
But potentially interested clubs might decided not to pursue the Manchester City man’s signature after coming across his stance.
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