Man City claim 'unfair treatment' by Premier League due to data from firm Liverpool use
Manchester City are reportedly claiming unfair treatment from the Premier League due to their commercial income being assessed by data supplied by Nielsen Sports
Manchester City are reportedly claiming unfair treatment from the Premier League due to their commercial income being assessed by data supplied from Nielsen Sports, whose figures have previously been used by Liverpool.
Liverpool have been watching on with interest at the developments in recent weeks with City taking legal action against the Premier League. The title holders dispute the need for Associated Party Transaction rules, which were introduced to stop companies connected to the owners of clubs artificially inflating the market value for sponsorship agreements.
Their Abu Dhabi ownership group believe the regulations are unlawful and have been seeking damages as a result, while a separate legal date is set for November this year around allegations of financial breaches that total 115 charges.
Associated Party Transaction Rules were introduced back in December of 2021 following the takeover of Newcastle United by the Public Investment Fund for Saudi Arabia and were designed to deny clubs from exaggerating commercial deals with companies linked to their owners.
READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool contract talks to ramp up as £26m deal pays off
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info
READ MORE: Mohamed Salah reports for Liverpool duty as huge Arne Slot boost becomes clear
A report in The Guardian has now claimed City are unhappy with the use of Nielsen Sports for how their commercial revenue is being judged, despite the company's reputation as an industry-leading expert in providing analysis and data to sporting institutions regarding media valuation, fan insights and digital and social analysis.
Nielsen describe themselves as "the leading source of sports measurement and analytics around the world" but City are unhappy the American firm's data is being used to judge if there is a case to answer at the Etihad.
Liverpool used the influential Nielsen's data to measure analytics involving TV audiences around Champions League fixtures in 2022/23, with the company's numbers cited to claim that the Reds had been the most watched team in world football across the last five years in their most recent financial announcements, released in February.
The club have also previously credited specific Nielsen figures around TV viewership for Liverpool's 5-0 win at Manchester United in October 2021 while the Reds were able to lay claim to being the most watched team in European football across the globe with 415m cited by the firm between August 2023 to May 2024.
There is no suggestion, however, that it is Liverpool who City are citing as their 'rivals' in the report, with the piece stating Nielsen have "contracts with several top-flight clubs."
The Guardian write: "It is claimed by City that the regulations, designed to ensure sponsorship received from companies with links to clubs’ owners are of fair market value, are unlawful because they contravene competition law. If successful the club will also demand financial damages from the Premier League for perceived losses from sponsorship deals blocked after analysis by Nielsen.
"City are also understood to be arguing that the Premier League’s APT rules are far more restrictive than Uefa’s and want them relaxed. The unprecedented legal action has sparked a civil war in the top flight, with Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa sympathetic to City but Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool strongly opposed to their claim.
"Legal documents from City also allege that the rules were designed to 'discriminate against Gulf owners'. That bold claim is based on the fact that APTs were brought in as a response to the Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle in 2021.
"City posted a Premier League record revenues of £712.8m last November on the back of winning the treble, an increase of almost £100m on the previous 12 months, and their commercial income has led to eyebrows being raised at other clubs given the size of their global fanbase compared with that of Manchester United and Liverpool. Three of City’s biggest sponsors have close links to their Abu Dhabi owners, including the shirt and stadium sponsors Etihad Airways, Etisalat and Experience Abu Dhabi."
Manchester City, the Premier League and Nielsen all declined to comment, according to the report.