Manchester United could sue Manchester City

Yesterday was a bombshell day in the world of football with reports across the industry claiming that Manchester City had been found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial regulations.

Those charges, which City have denied throughout the entire legal process, had tailed up to 115 with an understanding that the Citizens have been found guilty of 114 of those.

It remains unclear what sanctions United’s rivals will receive although clubs across the Premier League are already looking to take advantage of this latest news.

Journalist Miguel Delaney, of The Independent, has said that Manchester United, alongside Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool, have retained their rights to receive compensation under Section W of the competition’s rules.

Delaney has also said that successful legal actions against Manchester City could be worth more than £200m to clubs in compensation. Manchester United declined to comment on the matter.

In this specific example, any possible case would relate to possible loss of earnings and potentially loss of chance.

With Manchester United, for example, victory in the 2011/12 and 2017/18 Premier League seasons (campaigns covered in the investigation) may have seen further earning increases.

For the Red Devils, therefore, the question is: do the club have a realistic chance of winning this case?

Suing their biggest rivals would be a huge gamble for Manchester United and large amounts of time would have to be dedicated to preparing each detail of the case, too, with no holes present.

The club may be given plenty of time to do this with Manchester City expected to exhaust every possible avenue to save themselves, including appealing the guilty verdict which could extend the case further whilst preventing United’s case from being heard.

For now, examining the realms of a potential case may be the next step for Manchester United and the step needed to make their claim as strong as possible.