Newcastle United have been keeping a close eye on Manchester City’s APT legal case against the Premier League.
The reigning Premier League champions claimed victory after the verdict from their associated party transactions case was reached this week.
The Premier League introduced the rules after the PiF takeover of Newcastle in 2021 and they were designed to stop clubs striking inflated sponsorship deals with entities connected to their owners.
City challenged the Premier League over those regulations and they were found to be “unlawful”, however, the 175-page judgement from the case has resulted in both sides claiming victory.
Newcastle have been hamstrung by Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules in recent seasons and have been attempting to grow commercial revenue to try and avoid a repeat of the disastrous summer transfer window.
Newcastle chiefs could claim for missed Saudi Arabia deals
GRV finance expert Adam Williams explained how Newcastle will benefit from Man City’s legal victory, suggesting the result would have been “celebrated” by the club’s hierarchy.
With new details now emerging, The Athletic claim that City may seek damages after having sponsorship deals rejected and delayed.
The report adds that Newcastle could follow suit and claim compensation on any potential commercial deals they may have missed out on because of the “unlawful” APT rules.
It continues to quote Amanda Staveley and Merhdad Ghodoussi, who said in 2022 that they did not have a raft of Saudi-based deals ready to go when the takeover was ratified.
However, there has been a clear push at St James’ Park to grow commercial revenue and if the APT rules slowed any progress or blocked any deals then Newcastle could now claim financial damages.
Newcastle chiefs’ ‘surprise’ reaction to Man City legal case
The same report has opened up on how the hierarchy at St James’ Park have reacted to the news around City’s legal victory.
It claims that those “at the top of the club, there was a combination of surprise and no immediate sense of what it might mean.
Their initial response was summarised as “good news, but probably not a game-changer in terms of revenue.”
READ MORE: What Newcastle United have been doing behind the scenes ahead of Manchester City’s legal win
Ultimately, Newcastle will have to wait and find out how the APT rules are re-written before fully knowing how beneficial this will be in the long-term.
There is no chance that PiF can now just throw money at the club to boost commercial revenue, but it could open up more flexibility in the deals the club can strike.
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