MANCHESTER CITY and the Premier League have reached a settlement in their dispute over the rules governing associated party transactions (APTs), it was announced today.

Under the settlement, City accept that the current rules governing APTS are “valid and binding.”

City had launched arbitration proceedings on January 20 against the current rules, which are designed to ensure that deals between clubs and entities linked to their ownership are done at fair market value.

City’s challenge was understood to have included criticism of the way the Premier League treated shareholder loans under the rules.

The APT rules were originally introduced in December 2021, following the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle earlier that year.

Those rules were successfully challenged by City last year, with a tribunal finding them unlawful on multiple grounds, including the fact they excluded shareholder loans from fair market value assessments.

That led to the Premier League consulting with clubs on amendments to the rules, with 16 teams voting in favour of the amended rules at a meeting last November.

The league and City have agreed to make no further comment on the matter.

City and the Premier League still await the outcome of an independent commission hearing which was examining more than 100 charges against the club for alleged breaches of the league’s financial rules, charges City strenuously deny.

The hearing took place between September and December last year, after City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023.