Manchester City won limited points in its challenge to the Premier League’s associated-party transaction (APT) rules, but the outcome was not an unqualified victory. A tribunal found defects in the former rules in 2024 and 2025; City then settled the proceedings in September 2025, accepting that the current APT rules were valid and binding.
What are the Premier League APT rules?
APT means “associated-party transaction.” The Premier League uses the rules to assess whether certain commercial deals and other arrangements involving a club and an associated party reflect fair market value (FMV). The League says associated parties may include entities in the same corporate group, parties with common ownership or board members, or parties materially influenced by the same person or entity. Its framework also includes a threshold review of certain large transactions with non-associated parties to reduce the risk of circumvention. The League’s APT rules summary describes the framework.
The League says the purpose is to prevent clubs gaining a financial advantage through commercial income or reduced costs that are not at FMV, and to support the effectiveness of its Profitability and Sustainability Rules. It says assessments consider an independent expert’s valuation, information from the club and evidence from comparable transactions. That is the League’s stated rationale for the system.
What did the tribunal decide, and when?
| Date | Decision | What it meant |
|---|---|---|
| 7 October 2024 | First arbitration award | The tribunal upheld the need for an APT system and rejected most of City’s challenge, while finding in City’s favour on limited points. |
| 14 February 2025 | Second partial award | The tribunal held that three defects could not be separated from the former rules, making those rules unenforceable as a whole. It did not rule on the validity of the replacement rules already in force. |
| 8 September 2025 | Settlement | City and the Premier League ended the APT arbitration. City accepted that the current APT rules were valid and binding. |
The October 2024 award: limited wins for City
The tribunal found that shareholder loans should not be excluded from APT rules, rejected a set of 2024 amendments, and said clubs should receive comparable transaction data before the League made a final FMV decision. It also dismissed most of City’s challenges to the League’s assessment of two of the club’s commercial transactions, while identifying information that should have been shared earlier. The League’s summary of the decision says the tribunal upheld the general objective and framework of APT regulation.
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The February 2025 award: the former rules could not stand
The tribunal concluded that the three defects it had identified could not be severed from the former APT Rules. As a result, those previous rules were unenforceable as a whole. The ruling concerned the old rules, not every version of the APT framework: replacement rules had come into force in November 2024. The tribunal did not decide whether those newer rules were valid. The Premier League’s explanation of the second award sets out that distinction.
The September 2025 settlement: City accepted the current rules
City and the Premier League announced that they had settled the APT arbitration and terminated the proceedings. City accepted that the current APT rules were valid and binding. Their public announcement did not disclose further settlement terms, so it does not establish any additional private concessions or financial terms. The League’s settlement statement records the public outcome.
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So, did Manchester City win?
City succeeded on specific legal points about the former rules, including the finding that those rules were unenforceable as a whole. But it did not secure a final ruling that the current APT system was invalid. The October 2024 award rejected most of City’s challenge and upheld the system’s general objective; the tribunal did not assess the replacement rules in its February 2025 award; and City later accepted the current rules in the settlement.
The most accurate description is a mixed legal outcome followed by a settlement—not a ruling that permanently abolished Premier League APT regulation or a blanket victory for either side.
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How the APT case differs from City’s 2026 financial-rules case
The APT arbitration concerned the rules for reviewing transactions involving associated parties and whether they reflected FMV. It is separate from the disciplinary case over alleged financial-rule breaches and non-cooperation.
In September 2026, the Premier League said an independent commission had found City guilty of serious financial-rule breaches over nine seasons and most non-cooperation charges. The League said sanction remained to be addressed separately and that City had a right to appeal. The Associated Press reported on 2 October 2026 that City had appealed; it said the appeal hearing would remain private and confidential until an outcome may be published. The Premier League’s statement about the commission decision and the Associated Press report on the appeal concern that distinct proceeding, not the resolved APT arbitration.
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