Adrian Durham: Man City's Charges Don't Stack Up Against Football's Real Offences

Manchester City's 100-plus alleged breaches of Premier League financial regulations might never see the light of day if broadcaster Adrian Durham has his way—and he's got some eyebrow-raising reasoning to back it up.

The Etihad outfit remains embroiled in a four-year investigation into FFP violations spanning 2009 to 2018. An independent commission wrapped up hearings at the tail end of 2024, with a verdict pencilled in for the end of this season. Whatever that verdict brings—whether transfer bans, fines, or points deductions—will likely face an appeal, meaning this saga looks set to rumble on indefinitely.

Durham, speaking on talkSPORT, reckons enough is enough. The case has dragged on since early 2022, and frankly, the whole thing has become as tedious as a 0-0 between two relegation-battlers.

"Manchester City's charges should be dropped," Durham declared. "All they did was put money into a football club so they could spend money on their team to be competitive and sign players to entertain the fans. There are far worse things going on in football."

His argument hinges on City's position when their takeover happened. They were trailing their rivals considerably and needed to catch up at pace. Compare that to Wrexham, where new owners threw enormous sums into a non-league outfit with zero financial regulations in place, causing absolute chaos with wage structures across the National League and lower EFL tiers—yet they got feted as heroes with a Hollywood film to boot.

Leicester City's path to Premier League glory also raised eyebrows. They copped FFP breaches during the 2013/14 season, years before their stunning title win, but nobody talks about that anymore because it spoils the underdog narrative.

Durham then veered into decidedly more creative territory with his list of "worse crimes" plaguing English football: Liverpool's ticket pricing, Chelsea's owners showing scant regard for their supporters, Arsenal's time-wasting theatrics, Burnley's consistently woeful efforts to stay afloat, and VAR's role in killing the spectacle.

The real kicker? City's spending filters throughout the entire football ecosystem—academies, women's teams (the club are poised to win the WSL title), and fellow Premier League sides. This season alone, City have distributed substantial funds to Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, and Burnley.

"There's no reason, just drop them, we're all bored of it," Durham concluded, questioning why financial rules dreamed up years ago should result in such a hammering when the spirit of competitive investment seems to benefit the broader game.