Stefan Borson drops verdict on Man City agreeing huge sponsor deal after new twist

Manchester City’s sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways is unlikely to be affected by the Premier League’s proposals to change the associated party transaction (APT) rules.

That is the view of former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider he doesn’t believe the changes are going to have much of an impact on the English champions’ situation.

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 last month, where two aspects of the rules were deemed to be unlawful.

A significant part of the case was Man City striking a lucrative extension to their deal with Etihad, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government through the wealth fund ADQ.

The Times reported on 6 November the Premier League has issued proposed amendments to the APT rules that could open the door for top-flight clubs to agree significantly more lucrative sponsorship deals.

The 20 member clubs will meet on 22 November to vote on the new proposals.

Premier League vote to have little impact on Man City deal

“There is quite a lot of misconception about the Etihad deal,” Borson told Football Insider.

“It was proposed for approval under the 2021 rules.

“Although it was put forward by City in November 2023, because the ruleset was the 2021 ruleset at that time, that’s the ruleset that was used to consider the Etihad deal.

“It will not have any impact at all on the deals that have been proposed so far by City in respect of Etihad and the other deals that are mentioned in that tribunal decision.

“It’s a bit of a misconception that City only didn’t succeed because of the 2021 rules.

“The only thing that will impact the Etihad part of the process is access to the database, which I think they did get in the end anyway.

“But it’s about the timing of when they get that information, which is now going to be entrenched within the laws that people at the appeal stage can get hold of the comparative data that was used to reject the deal if it is rejected.

“I don’t think it’s going to have a massive impact on the City situation on this one.

“Frankly, I don’t think it’s going to have a massive impact generally.

“Don’t get me wrong, these are meaningful changes, but the majority of the rules have been in place for the majority of the deals.”

In other news, 31-year-old could quit Man City and join title winners.

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The post Stefan Borson drops verdict on Man City agreeing huge sponsor deal after new twist appeared first on Football Insider.