Man City hire Partygate lawyer who charges £400k a week – same as Kevin de Bruyne earns – to defend financial breaches

Posted Wednesday, February 08, 2023 by Thesun.co.uk

MANCHESTER CITY have reportedly hired one of Boris Johnson's "partygate" lawyers to help defend the club against charges from the Premier League.

The champions were yesterday hit with several charges alleging financial rule-breaking over a number of years.

Lord Pannick KC is an experienced legal professional and often demands big fees for his services

The club deny wrongdoing but could face severe punishments if they allegations are proven.

The Lawyer report that City are now drafting in the biggest names from the legal professional to help defend their case.

Respected lawyer Lord Pannick KC has been hired by the club as they look to clear their name.

He has previously advised Boris Johnson over allegations that he partied in Downing Street during lockdown.

Lord Pannick is widely believed to be one of the best barristers of his generation and is now set to be involved in what will likely be an extraordinary legal battle.

It is also likely to be costly for the club as Lord Pannick could reportedly be paid £80,000 a day, or £400,000 a week, should the case come to trial and he was to be working full-time.

This wage would equal what star player Kevin De Bruyne is paid by the club.

Lord Pannick is reported to typically charge around £5,000 an hour for his services and even at that wage he would be pocketing more than all but seven of City's players.

Man City face over 100 allegations of financial breaches after a four year investigation by the Premier League.

The club said they were "surprised" by the action in a brief but defiant statement.

Punishments include expulsion from the Premier League, points deductions and the stripping of titles won during the period being investigated.

City are under investigation over the period between 2009 and 2018.

During that time the club won three Premier League titles, including one under current boss Pep Guardiola.

He has previously threatened to quit as City manager if club chiefs had lied to him regarding alleged rule-breaking.

This is not the first time City have had to do battle in the courts with Uefa fining the club £25m and banning them from European competitions for two years in February 2020.

This regarded an alleged breach of financial fair play rules.

Five months later, that ban was overturned and the fine was cut to £9m by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.