Manchester City launch legal claim against Premier League which could positively impact Newcastle

Manchester City are still waiting to find out what will come of them as they stare down the barrel of 115 breaches of Financial Fair Play.

Having seen Everton and Nottingham Forest hit with points deductions for a handful of breaches between them, the resulting punishment for City's breaches could be off the scale.

Or at least they would be if we ever thought anything would come of them. We all know how it's one rule for the "big six" and another rule for the rest. The reason it's taking so long is probably so that we all forget about it and move on as punishing the Premier League golden boys would be far too damaging to the Premier League brand.

However, now the Premier League may have to go on the defensive as Manchester City look set to take them head-on in an unprecedented legal battle, according to The Times.

Manchester City want the Associated Party Transaction rule binned - and so do we

Manchester City's hearing with the Premier League regarding the 115 FFP breaches is set to go ahead in November, meanwhile, the hearing for City's claim against the Premier League will begin on 10th June.

It is expected to last two weeks and could cause a rift between Premier League clubs as Manchester City push to end the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules which they believe are unlawful, and will seek damages from the Premier League.

The rule which was hastily put into place following Newcastle United's Saudi-backed takeover was green-lit to prevent clubs from striking up overly-inflated deals with companies connected to the club's owners. The rules dictate that such transactions have to be independently assessed to be of “fair market value” (FMV).

Manchester City vs The Premier League is going to cause a rift between the PL clubs

Manchester City have now submitted a hefty 165-page document in which they say the rule is discriminatory and has been approved by their rivals to stifle their success on the pitch as a “tyranny of the majority”.

Should City succeed in getting this rule scrapped, that flings the doors open for Newcastle to create partnerships which will finally release them from the icy grasp of FFP. The Saudi PIF has a stake in so many companies that it's probably harder to find partnerships that aren't in some way subject to APT rules, but if that rule is gone it will be a game changer.

The Times claims that around half of the Premier League's clubs look set to back City in their case, which obviously means the other half will be opposed to the change. Things could get very ugly in the next few weeks, but we'll be keeping our fingers crossed for Manchester City victory that results in the APT rules being scrapped to allow the PIF to plough money into our club via sponsorship deals.