By Dr Dan Plumley

8th Feb, 2023 | 11:28am

Finance expert: FFP 'war' will now escalate as Man City 'blindsided' by new charges

Man City feel wronged over the timing of the Premier League’s financial allegations after it left the club “genuinely blindsided”.

That is the opinion of finance expert Dr Dan Plumley, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about Man City’s reaction to the Premier League’s investigation.

The Premier League charged Man City with breaching financial regulations over 100 times in nine seasons this week.

Speculation is now swirling over the potential punishment facing the Premier League champions should they be found guilty of the allegations.

City replied by releasing an official club statement on Monday (6 February) suggesting they were “surprised” by the alleged breaches, particularly given the “extensive engagement” that City offered during the investigation.

Plumley believes that City’s surprise is genuine and that there is a sense of shock running through the club at the allegations.

“There is a soft power war between Man City and the Premier League, and I think that’s been at play behind the scenes for a few years now,” Plumley told Football Insider.

“On top of that, public opinion won’t be factored into the legal issues at hand but expect some PR campaigns from both sides back and forth.

“As for the timing of the Premier League’s release, Man City seemed to be genuinely blindsided.

“That is something that City will want to address straight away as they’ll have expected better communication from the Premier League.

“I don’t think the Premier League are obliged to tell clubs when they release statements, but this notion of collaboration has been heavily talked about throughout the investigation process.

“Man City feel as though they’ve collaborated as required but the Premier League got the jump on them with the statement.“

In other news, Newcastle United’s ‘private’ reaction to Man City financial scandal revealed