Richard Masters on Premier League Process in Manchester City Case

Richard Masters knows everyone is tired of waiting.

The Premier League chief executive fronted up to questions about Manchester City’s long-running financial case on Tuesday, admitting the process has dragged on but refusing to apologise for the time it is taking.

City were first charged back in February 2023. An independent commission finally held its hearing, which wrapped up in December 2024. Since then? Silence. No verdict, no sanction, just a growing sense of impatience around the game.

Masters, speaking to talkSPORT at a launch event, didn’t try to pretend otherwise.

“As every day elapses, we must be a day nearer,” he said. “I obviously can't comment on it. I do understand the frustration. It has taken longer than expected, but we have to follow the process.”

That line – follow the process – has become the Premier League’s shield. Masters pushed it again, stressing that the governing body’s job is not to rush to a conclusion but to make sure the independent panel has the space and material to get to the bottom of the allegations.

“In the end, the Premier League's responsibility is to ask the Independent Commission to look at serious allegations and to establish the truth,” he said. “That shouldn't be qualified by it taking too long, for example.”

No timeline. No hints. Just the insistence that the clock, however loud it sounds, cannot dictate the outcome.

Chelsea comparison highlights City divide

Masters did, though, offer a clear contrast that will not go unnoticed at the Etihad.

Chelsea were hit with a £10 million fine and a suspended transfer ban for historical breaches, after their new ownership handed over information about past conduct. That cooperation allowed the Premier League to move quickly and agree sanctions without a contested hearing.

Manchester City’s case sits at the opposite end of that spectrum. The club faces a far broader and more complex set of allegations, and the process has become a protracted legal battle rather than a negotiated outcome.

“In the situation with Chelsea, obviously it's historic. It's very different to PSR cases,” Masters explained. “In the case of Chelsea, the new owners came forward with all the information, and we decided to enter a sanction agreement.”

That did not happen with City. The Premier League chief underlined that in more intricate, historical investigations, the league often does not have full access to evidence or key witnesses. When that happens, there is no fast-track deal, only a full, contested commission.

The result is exactly what English football is living through now: a heavyweight case, years in the making, inching towards a decision that still has no public date – and a title race, and a league’s credibility, waiting on the outcome.