Arsenal, Manchester United among eight clubs who helped Premier League in Man City case

Pep Guardiola may have a new 'hateful eight' after details of Manchester City's legal battle with the Premier League were released.

Back in 2020 when City were temporarily expelled from the Champions League by UEFA, Guardiola was left fuming by the actions of the clubs who wrote to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to try and influence City's appeal. The coach angrily listed the nine clubs - miscast as the 'hateful eight' - in a later press conference and has brought up the incident on a number of times since.

Following the conclusion of the hearing into Associated Party Transaction rules - regulations introduced in late 2021 following Newcastle United's takeover and tightened in 2023 - the report has named clubs that submitted evidence or written statements to support either the Premier League's case or City's. By quirk, there are eight who actively sided with the league.

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The report states that league relied upon: "the evidence given by a number of clubs in these proceedings, including Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, and West Ham as well as letters written in support of the APT Rules for the purpose of this arbitration from Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham, and Wolverhampton Wanderers who are smaller clubs in the PL."

Despite that, City had success on a number of key points - including that the introduction of APTs and their amending are unlawful. The verdict has opened a can of worms for the Premier League over how to proceed, with City and other clubs able to seek damages over any losses they have incurred because of the unnecessary restrictions.