It is 'unlikely' that Manchester City and the Premier League will reach a settlement before the 115 charges of Premier League regulations are heard, claim Kieran Maguire and Stefan Borson.
City are understood to have failed to provide accurate financial information, as well as failing to cooperate with investigations spanning nine seasons, from 2009/10 to 2017/18. The club have denied any wrongdoing and the case will be heard by an independent commission later this year.
Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester's 'We're Not Really Here' podcast, football finance expert Maguire and lawyer Borson, who was once a financial adviser at the Etihad Stadium, were asked whether there would be a chance that the two parties agree on a settlement before the hearing.
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"It would certainly save a lot of money on behalf of both sides," Maguire said. "It could mean that both parties could claim a victory, but I think in terms of public opinion and the reaction there's likely to be from both the media, and I suspect from other clubs, it's not really something that would be palatable to the Premier League nor City."
Borson added: "There are ways in which it could occur within the Premier League rules. But I think they missed their window for a settlement. Now that it's public and now that we're so close to the hearing, it would be very unlikely for them to find common ground politically to get this settled."
Back in May, Premier League CEO Richard Masters gave an update on the hearing, saying: "All we have said is that a date has been set for the hearing. We haven't said
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Kieran Maguire