Prominent Lawyer Joins the Citizens' Side / Better Call Mark: Manchester City Takes Key Step to Avoid Punishment

Manchester City has taken an important step to avoid a final conviction in its financial misconduct case.

According to "Sports Three", Manchester City has decided to hire Mark Howard KC, one of the most prominent British lawyers, to strengthen its legal team in the legal battle with the English Premier League. This news, which was published by the specialized magazine "De Lair", is brought up in a situation where this case has reached unprecedented proportions in terms of financial costs.

Mark Howard, known in legal circles as a very professional lawyer, is one of the senior directors of the Brick Court Chambers law firm in central London, which has previously represented the likes of Roman Abramovich and Elton John. The renowned lawyer joins Manchester City's defense team led by Lord Panick KC; A lawyer who used to be an adviser to Boris Johnson and is one of the main figures of Citizens in the case that is called the "Trial of the Century".

Although the amount of salary that the lawyer will receive from Manchester City has not been announced, De Laer has pointed to his considerable financial history: "He received an unprecedented £9 million in initial legal fees in 2023 to represent the Federal Republic of Nigeria in a case. This was the highest amount ever paid to a lawyer for pre-trial preparation and appearance on the first day of court, as an initial attorney's fee."

This unconditional investment is consistent with the statements of Khaldoun Al Mubarak in 2014. He said at the time that he would rather spend £30 million to hire the world's top 50 lawyers than agree to a fine. In this regard, according to the information obtained by the Sun newspaper by examining the financial accounts of the 2023-24 season of City Football Group, the accumulated expenses of this group for legal fees had previously exceeded 30 million pounds. This figure has increased due to the continuation of proceedings and the holding of a new meeting before the independent commission.

In total, the legal fees paid by Manchester City and the English Premier League in this case have exceeded 100 million pounds. The Guardian newspaper predicted last September that the Premier League's own spending would exceed £70 million.

This legal battle, which has been eight years since its beginning, is still not over. The winning side of the case expects to recover about 70% of the legal fees paid. However, if Manchester City cannot prove their innocence against the allegations, they will have to pay nearly £50 million to the Premier League in addition to the huge sums they have already spent on building up their defense.