Years before PSR ever existed, a London arbitration centre hosted the biggest Premier League litigation battle - Sheffield United v West Ham.

stefanborson.substack.com/p/revealed-w...

Here is a 2 parter deep dive...

The clearest example is to look at the perimeter City submit to UEFA. It shows:

- Slightly higher turnover
- UEFA revenues unsurprisingly as reported in the Club accounts
- Materially higher wages
- Materially higher operating expenses

Football activity is defined widely to capture all elements of the football costs.

This is to prevent clubs hiding costs outside of their reporting perimeter. Clubs must sign a declaration of compliance.

This reporting perimeter is replicated to an extent in the Premier League rules but largely only in respect of APTs (it appears - I think the drafting could be clearer).

UEFA licensing is governed by what is known as the "reporting perimeter".

7⃣ What about the other clubs?
• Other clubs (particularly Newcastle) also apparently faced delays but at this stage no evidence suggests their deals were rejected or adjusted (although this extract seems contradictory).

Under the rules, this must have been approved by the Premier League as if it was a new Transaction.

We know that season 24/25 (current) was a renewal or extension.

5⃣ Neves previously said explicitly that arrangements with City were arm's length. It wld be very difficult for a company reporting on a quarterly basis to effectively mislead the market by failing to disclose material facts in substantial marketing contracts such as the £100m+ pa contract with City

2⃣Even though it will be a local Abu Dhabi IPO, the requirements of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) appear Western in style and stringent including the use of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) and quarterly reporting in both Arabic and English.

1⃣ Interesting to see Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad interviewed in the Times today ahead of what seems to be an imminent IPO.

The biggest football clubs in the world are now internationally owned and have meaningful retail, hospitality, property and media businesses in sizeable, complex groups often with MCO sister clubs.

The impact of abstentions is a significant problem for the PL’s optics here. If 5 abstain, the vote could be carried by just 10 votes.