Marcotti
Samuel
Paul Hayward (Telegraph)
Anyone else?
No. I was reacting to a discussion I'd seen on Twitter but I forget who said what.
A few notable journalists have yet to have their say. Perhaps they are waiting to see the full story which is wise.
So far we have evidence of a club adopting an under-siege mentality and performing a rearguard operation.
If you look at the end result now we have revenues of £500m:
£57m - match-day income,
£55m - UEFA
£157m - Broadcasting
£232m - commercial income
The UAE commercial income is around £80m the lion share of which is the £67.5m Etihad deal which at its core is a shirt and stadium sponsorship and Etihad say they are entirely liable for it in its entirety.
Der Spiegel have effectively found that in the UAE the barriers between state and national air carrier are obscure. Sheikh Mansour is implicated in making / facilitating the deals but so what? Related party investment is not a problem for UEFA providing it is fair value. Are UEFA or the press going to analyse whether £67.5m is fair value? I can tell you now it is. So can the man in the street. It was thought to be £40m at the time.
Of course La Liga and certain rabble rousers with their own skeletons will shout and protest but if you put the facts down and weigh it up there is no case to answer. That's my opinion. Others will make their opinion.
You can not have football clubs using their clout and support from big fan bases to force a regulator into action. It seems to me that some people in the media are trying to wive a wave of populism amongst Liverpool and Utd fans, but you do that you lose integrity in a month and that is more important than anything. PSG maybe an issue because they are trying to work around and challenge the FFP regime but City have not gone down that route.
Last Summer, City spent a net £30m on players. In the forthcoming windows, City will likely be minor players as we have built our side and other sides are seeking to knock us off the top and they will be the teams that are challenging the rules, only one suspects the financial regime will change again.
This reflects more the balance of forces ranging against Manchester City more than it does the subterfuge we have employed. If there has been subterfuge it has been that of a fox escaping the hound. Some people will not like the analogy because City's owners are immensely rich but they are foreigners playing against and challenging vested interest and FFP represents vested interests
