City Football Group announce new APT deal after Man City 'unlawful' vote attempt

As Manchester City challenge the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules in England, City Football Group have announced their latest lucrative Etihad Airways sponsorship deal with sister club New York City FC.

APT regulation is a contentious subject after both City and league officials claimed victory in a landmark commission ruling in October. This concluded that while there is a requirement, some elements of the framework breached EU competition law.

Top-flight clubs are expected to vote on the introduction of the Premier League's proposed revisions at their shareholder meeting in London tomorrow, though City have lobbied to have further revisions made and the matter settled at a later date.

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A letter from the club's chief lawyer, Simon Cliff, is said to claim the newly-drafted proposals still contravene the judgement passed by the commission, saying the amendments are 'not lawful' accusing league officials of rushing through the consultation process meaning tomorrow clubs will be 'voting blind'. Aston Villa have since come out in support of City's argument, though as a minimum seven member clubs will need to vote against the latest revisions in order to have them fail.

Since coming under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour and the Abu Dhabi United Group, through their subsidiary City Football Group, have struck partnerships with companies with ties to their Gulf state owners. The most lucrative of those is with Etihad Airways - owned by the Abu Dhabi government through the wealth fund ADQ.

In the latest revision of a deal in place since 2009, they