In light of the recent financial ruling against Manchester City, football fans have revisited a statement from Liverpool owner John Henry made back in 2011. At that time, he lent his support to Arsene Wenger, who had publicly questioned the legitimacy of City's record sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways.
The deal, valued at £400 million over ten years, included title sponsorship for the stadium, funding for the Etihad Campus, and branding on the team kits. By contrast, Arsenal's partnership with Emirates, penned in 2004, was worth £90 million over 15 years. Wenger, in a characteristically ironic tone, remarked:
Clearly, we struck a poor deal.
The Frenchman openly expressed that the Manchester City agreement raised serious concerns regarding financial fair play:
This puts trust in financial fair play into question. That’s the main issue. It suggests that these rules can be circumvented and anything can be done.
If financial fair play is to work at all, sponsorship agreements must reflect market value. You can't simply double, triple, or quadruple the amounts. If rules are put in place, they must be adhered to.
At the time, Manchester City rejected Wenger's claims, labelling his comments regarding the deal as unfounded.
However, John Henry publicly sided with the Arsenal manager, expressing his views on social media:
The club's best player should be valued at least 10% of the total stadium naming rights fee. Mr Wenger is voicing what everyone is thinking.
Fifteen years on, these words have resurfaced following the independent committee's financial ruling on Manchester City. Documents published revealed instances of dubious agreements with corporate partners and sponsors that were allegedly used to inflate the club's income or reduce its expenses.
Manchester City continues to deny any wrongdoing and plans to appeal the decision.
