One hundred and fifteen, that is the number of charges the Premier League filed against Man City back in February, which predominantly concern the clubs finances.
The allegations have since been referred to an independent commission and Citys hiring of Lord Pannick KC as their defence lawyer, who has 10,000-an-hour rates, shows the severity of the case.
So, as you can imagine, Wednesdays news that saw City announce a revenue of 712.8million a Premier League record following their treble season, was met with a level of scrutiny.
The report did not break down their commercial revenue, and at a time when their sponsorship deals are under a microscope, it does not clear up the anomalies from deals that have been scrutinised in the media.
For reference, Liverpools latest set of accounts to the end of May 2022 was a club-record 594m in revenue, that is 118.8m less than City for 2022/23.
That in itself is puzzling, but that City can lead the likes of Liverpool and Man United in commercial revenue is another layer to a murky story. And social media was, understandably, full of sceptics:
And I believe in Santa Claus. https://t.co/WPRPzeRTUh
Pete_Kopite (@PeteKopite) November 15, 2023
