Man City hires Pannick as defence counsel over alleged financial rule breaches

City, who has won the Premier League title six times since being acquired by Abu Dhabi-based City Football Group, would have also allegedly breached rules relating to the provision of accurate financial information.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City could face dire consequences in case the charges are proved. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

David Pannick, of Blackstone Chambers, will again defend Manchester City after the Premier League brought more than 100 charges against the football club for breaches of financial rules on Monday.

City, the world’s highest revenue-generating club last season according to Deloitte, have been referred to an independent commission for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules stretching from the 2009-10 season to the 2017-18 campaign.

Pannick, who recently advised former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in an investigation into whether he misled parliament, represented the club in its unsuccessful appeal against the Premier League’s dispute resolution system to the Commercial Court and Court of Appeal, as well as in the underlying arbitration in July 2021.

Pannick could be paid 80,000 pounds ($96,184) a day, or 400,000 pounds ($480,920) a week, the same rate as Kevin De Bruyne, City’s - and the Premier League’s - highest paid player, said legal website The Lawyer.

City, who has won the Premier League title six times since being acquired by Abu Dhabi-based City Football Group, would have also allegedly breached rules relating to the provision of accurate financial information.

If proven, at worst the charges could lead to the club’s expulsion from the Premier League. ($1 = 0.8317 pounds)