🚨🆕 Luca Williams-Barnett, one to watch over the next two transfer windows.
The 18 y/o talented attacking midfielder is under contract with Tottenham until 2028. Spurs want to keep him, but a move is currently being planned.
Top Premier League and Bundesliga clubs are monitoring him.
@SkySportDE 🏴
NEW: The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats say Andy Burnham’s government has questions to answer following our story
Tory shadow sports minister Louie French says: “Why was the Government giving Manchester City’s leadership such privileged access at this sensitive time? What was discussed? Transparency is key to ensuring that all parties are treated fairly and the integrity of English Football is upheld.”
The Liberal Democrat’s call on Burnham to publish the minutes of meetings between ministers and the UAE over investment and Man City
From Etihad Airways 60-page submission to John Kerry, US Department Secretary of State, Antony Foxx, US Department of Transportation Secretary and Penny Pritzker, US Department of Commerce Secretary on May 31, 2015
Manchester City will argue the so-called 'tagged' sponsorship payments (totalling £830m) came from the Abu Dhabi Government not their owner (ADUG). This applies to State-controlled entities such as Etihad and Etisalat. Yet Etihad has previously refuted AD Government funding as "false".
City can point to an internal report written for the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in 2010 which concluded the Abu Dhabi Government did indeed cover the sponsorship of Manchester City. The report was not intended for external publication.
In their UEFA case, City denied the Etihad (or any other) sponsorship funds came from any other source other than a direct payment. Sheikh Mansour provided a letter which read: "I have not authorised ADUG to make any payments to Etihad, Etisalat or any of their affiliates in relation to their sponsorship of MCFC."
In 2015, the 'Partnership for Open and Fair Skies' wrote to the US departments of Commerce, Transportation and State arguing Etihad gained a competitive advantage due to receiving huge sums from the Abu Dhabi Government. They allude to the internal report referenced above, which appears to confirm this.
Yet Etihad's response was: "The assertion that the Abu Dhabi Government paid for Etihad’s sponsorship of English Premier League football club Manchester City is equally false.
"In 2011 Etihad and Manchester City entered into a 10-year sponsorship agreement, which included naming rights for Manchester City’s stadium. Etihad funded this sponsorship from its own liquidity. It is not uncommon for airlines to have sponsorships with sports teams and their venues."
Etihad's denial the Abu Dhabi Government helped pay for their sponsorship goes against City's core argument, according to the verdict, that "AD Sponsors had from time to time applied for financial assistance from the AD Government towards their liability to pay the Recorded Sponsorship Fees."
Due to redacted names, multiple sponsors, and the phrase 'from time to time', City could make a case for other sponsors, but Etihad's on-record denial doesn't help the club's position, according to multiple legal sources spoken to.
Worth also reiterating, the panel, having reviewed the evidence already provided, already concluded any notion the Abu Dhabi Government not ADUG paid the tagged sums was "concocted well after the event".
Back in 2014, there was a man who was already aware of the irregularities involving Manchester City. That man now runs FIFA. The infamous Gianni Infantino, then UEFA General Secretary, abused his authority, shared confidential documents and, in short, outmanoeuvred the Investigatory Chamber, doing everything in his power to ensure that both Manchester City and PSG would merely receive a fine, avoiding a deeper investigation that could have led to a Champions League ban. All of these details were also revealed through Football Leaks.
Given his actions as UEFA General Secretary and, more recently, as FIFA President, I can only say, in my humble opinion, that Gianni Infantino has become a cancer on football and should have no place in the future of the game.