Man City claim ‘unfair’ treatment by Premier League as Liverpool links emerge

Manchester City are said to be claiming “unfair treatment” over the Premier League’s use of data from Nielsen Sports to assess their commercial income, whose figures were previously used by Liverpool.

Liverpool have been watching the unfolding drama closely as City take legal action against the Premier League. The reigning champions dispute the need for rules on related party transactions, which were put in place to prevent club owners from artificially inflating the values ​​of sponsorship deals.

Abu Dhabi City’s property group claims these regulations are illegal and is seeking damages accordingly. Meanwhile, a separate court date has been set for November this year to deal with allegations of financial irregularities amounting to 115 counts.

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Related party transaction rules came into force in December 2021 following Newcastle United’s takeover by the Public Investment Fund for Saudi Arabia. The rules aim to prevent clubs from exaggerating commercial deals with companies linked to their owners.

According to a report in The Guardian, City are unhappy with the use of Nielsen Sports to assess their commercial income, despite the company’s position as a leading provider of analysis and data for sports institutions on media rating, fan information and digital analytics, and social. .

Nielsen, self-proclaimed as “the world’s leading source of sports measurement and analysis”, has come under fire from Manchester City, who are unhappy that the US company’s data is being used to determine whether there is a case for retaliation at the Etihad.

Liverpool previously used Nielsen’s influential data to assess TV audience analytics for 2022/23 Champions League matches. The company’s figures were cited in Liverpool’s most recent financial announcements in February, saying the Reds were the most watched team globally for the past five years.

The club also acknowledged Nielsen-specific TV audience statistics for Liverpool’s 5-0 triumph at Manchester United in October 2021. In addition, the Reds could boast that they are the most watched European football team worldwide, with Nielsen citing 415 million viewers between August 2023 and May. 2024.

However, it is not suggested that Liverpool is the “rival” City are referring to in the report, with the article stating that Nielsen has “contracts with several top clubs”.

The Guardian reports that the City claims the regulations are “illegal” because they breach competition law. If the claim is successful, City will also seek financial damages from the Premier League for perceived losses from sponsorship deals blocked following Nielsen’s review.