An independent commission has now officially found Manchester City guilty of breaching its financial regulations after the news broke through David Ornstein on Friday, before the Premier League itself today confirmed the verdict in an official statement.
The Premier League’s financial rules have long been a hot topic around Newcastle United, particularly given the restrictions that have been introduced since the club’s takeover, and City’s verdict has only reignited that debate.
It isn’t only big because an independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of using ‘sham’ commercial arrangements to artificially inflate revenue and reduce costs by more than £900m, a verdict the club is set to appeal.
But, if the verdict survives appeal, it also stands as an admission by the Premier League that they have screwed up, allowed their division to be essentially invalidated for the last decade, and now have to confront the fact that their rules failed to prevent one club from gaining an advantage while breaching the very regulations designed to protect ‘competitive balance’.
PIF have played by the rules
In October 2021, Mike Ashley's reign of terror came to an end. PIF's ownership of Newcastle United was confirmed, and a new beginning dawned on Tyneside.
It was supposed to be the beginning of Newcastle’s rapid rise to the top of English football but, despite the successive Champions League qualifications and a first domestic trophy in over 70 years in 2025 with the Carabao Cup win, the club were never really able to put their deep pockets to good use.
And this is where Man City and their charges come in. Newcastle’s commercial revenues have grown massively year after year, but unlike City’s rise, PIF’s ownership has had to operate under a much stricter set of financial rules.
The club hasn’t simply been able to throw its owners’ wealth at the problem and accelerate towards the top.
They have had to methodically think and plan every single step under intense scrutiny from a governing body who changed their rules just months after the takeover. Referring to when the Premier League introduced its Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, bringing greater restrictions around commercial deals involving parties connected to a club’s ownership.
That has meant Newcastle have had to find ways to grow their commercial revenue and compete with the established elite while staying within the rules. Something that becomes particularly relevant when looking at what has now happened to Manchester City.
What does City’s verdict mean for Newcastle?
Newcastle have made big steps forward commercially, but the Magpies will feel aggrieved by City’s verdict given the club has tried everything possible to grow legitimately, whilst City have been using what has been described by the Premier League itself as ‘sham’ deals.
Take the Etihad sponsorship for example, City managed to get away with what the independent commission has now found was part of a series of ‘sham’ commercial arrangements, whilst Newcastle have constantly had to be cautious about their deals to prevent being sanctioned.
That leaves Newcastle with an uncomfortable question: how do they bridge the gap to the very top if the financial rules prevent them from following the same path as clubs who built their dominance under a different set of circumstances?
Magpies will have to continue the way they currently are
The reality is, Newcastle will have to keep operating the way they have been: trying to navigate the system in a traditional way that doesn't get them in trouble with the League, but still allows them to compete.
Newcastle are showing positive progress, particularly this season so far, with the new commercial deals and the Knox Hydration sponsorship representing a financial upgrade over their one with Sela and the recent announcement of Coca-Cola.
That is how they will have to operate, because the last thing they want is to end up in the exact position City is in, where there is talk of stripping titles, points deductions, possible expulsion, and legal action from other clubs in the League.
But that doesn’t mean Newcastle fans have to be happy about the situation. Is it fair that they have to build their way to the top under increasingly restrictive financial rules, while the clubs already established at the top were able to build their dominance under a different set of circumstances? No, of course it isn’t.
And if the findings against City ultimately stand following the appeal, that question becomes even harder to ignore for everybody involved.
Newcastle United have spent the PIF era trying to grow within the rules, while the most dominant club in the country over the last decade are now at the centre of the biggest financial case in Premier League history, having been found guilty of serious financial breaches during their rise to dominance.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that Newcastle should even think about following the same path, despite how nice it would be to experience such success. The last thing they'd want is controversy, a tarnished legacy, and questions of morality hanging over on-pitch achievements.
Newcastle are a club on the up and will succeed in the coming years, but you want it to feel earned, deserved, and untainted.
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