Amanda Staveley has spoken out on Manchester City’s Premier League financial charges and hopes the club and the league can reach a “resolution”
Former Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley, who brokered Sheikh Mansour’s Manchester City purchase, is hoping City and the Premier League “make a resolution” regarding a potential punishment for the club.
Last Tuesday, the Premier League announced that City had been found guilty of all charges concerning breaches of its financial regulations between 2009/10 and 2017/18. They stated that City artificially inflated revenue by more than £900million through ‘sham’ sponsorship deals.
City, however, have denied any wrongdoing and lodged an appeal on Thursday. In a statement, the club said they are “innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League” and have “a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” to support their case.
Delivering her assessment on the guilty verdict, Staveley, who facilitated Mansour’s highly-controversial and now-severely-tainted takeover of City in 2008, believes the Premier League should “focus on the future”.
Speaking at Leaders at Stamford Bridge, ex-Newcastle director Staveley said: “We have such an exciting league. Football in Europe is potentially the most watched sport in the world and we should really nurture this asset.
“We should nurture our fans and we should do everything we can to try and make a resolution to the issues that exist today. And I hope that somebody with probably more negotiating abilities [than me] comes in and resolves that issue. And I think it will get resolved.
“I think the Premier League had a difficult thing, an opportunity. But you’ve got to also try to put yourself in the executives’ [at the EPL] position. You’ve got 20 clubs and half of them are shouting at you to do one thing; the rest of the ten clubs are shouting at you to do another.
“So, as an executive, you’re always pulled; you’re always being threatened to be sued by one club. And you’re meant to actually be co-owners of one league. So, to navigate all of that is really tough.
“And, you know, you’ve got so much pressure on, generally, football at the moment. So, I think we should just focus on the future and getting it right and trying to build bridges with our neighbours.”
Staveley, 53, played a key role in orchestrating Newcastle United’s takeover in 2021 when she, working alongside the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Reuben family, brokered an agreement that saw former owner Mike Ashley relinquish control of the club.
The businesswoman became the public figurehead of the initial operation and steered Newcastle to the Carabao Cup final and Champions League qualification in 2023, before departing the club during the summer of 2024.
