If the news came as a shock to those at the top at Man City, the Premier League's lengthy statement also made the football world sit right up. Yes, City really have been charged with more than 100 alleged breaches of the top-flight's financial rules between 2009 and 2018.
These charges relate to accuracy of financial information, manager remuneration, profitability and sustainability and allegedly failing to assist Premier League investigations, but it must be said that City have always vehemently denied any wrongdoing. A club spokesman said 'we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all'.
Regardless of the independent commission's ultimate findings, the resources the Premier League have already poured into this four-year investigation highlight why Newcastle have taken Financial Fair Play so seriously. Yes, more than £250m has been spent on new signings since the takeover, but outsiders expected Newcastle's owners to go even bigger in the manner the PIF have, say, with LIV Golf. This was the so-called 'richest club in the world', after all.
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However, those at the top have repeatedly stressed the importance of complying with the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules - and they mean it. The sight of Premier League chief executive Richard Masters being hosted by part-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi was once an unimaginable prospect, but that is exactly what happened at St James' Park last month. ChronicleLive understands Masters usually attends a top-flight fixture most match rounds, so there was 'nothing out of the ordinary' about him being at the Fulham match, but it showed how much relations have improved when Newcastle were going head-to-head with the top-flight in court in a previous era.
Newcastle are still counting the cost of the aforementioned Ashley era when it comes to catching up with their rivals off the field after years of stagnation. Chelsea may have pushed the boundaries of FFP with their eye-watering spend in the last 12 months, but the Blues' turnover was also nearly four times the size of Newcastle's in the clubs' most recent set of accounts.
You can see why sporting Dan Ashworth has said it is not 'sustainable' for Newcastle to keep going out and signing so-called 'here and now players'. Hence why the club are also looking at emerging talent they can develop, too, as part of their strategy.
On that point, while there were calls from the outside to escalate plans in January, given the club's lofty position in the Premier League, Newcastle, tellingly, stopped short of doing that - even if Anthony Gordon and Harrison Ashby were signed in a window the club ended up trading in.
"Every club is bound by Financial Fair Play," Ashworth told Sky Sports last month. "So each financial year you have budgets in which you can use so we need to make sure it fits inside that budget. We just can't go and spend because we fancy it. It's all part of the plan."
It was a mid-season window where Chelsea, Southampton, Arsenal and Bournemouth all ended up spending more than Newcastle. Chelsea, Manchester United, West Ham, Spurs, Nottingham Forest, Man City and Wolves also went bigger than the Magpies last summer albeit it is worth noting those clubs did at least bring some money in through player sales.
Player trading was an obvious area Newcastle needed to address after Ayoze Perez, remarkably, was previously the last player to generate a transfer fee of note when the Spaniard joined Leicester City in 2019. It is one of a number of reasons why Chris Wood and Jonjo Shelvey's wishes were respected and the pair were both allowed to join Nottingham Forest last month. Yes, it has left Newcastle a little light, but these same deals might not even have been possible in the summer and the club have to become good traders to get to where they want to go.
It has also eased the wage bill a little. It was only less than a year ago that part-owner Amanda Staveley admitted Newcastle's salary to turnover ratio was 'probably too high', at around 65% and that figure will have only risen after the black-and-whites signed Nick Pope, Sven Botman, Alexander Isak, Loris Karius, Matt Targett (permanently), Anthony Gordon and Harrison Ashby.
That is why boosting income streams is going to be so important, particularly with UEFA's financial sustainability regulations eventually limiting the amount clubs competing in Europe can spend on wages, transfer fees and agents' fees to 70% of their revenue. That is the challenge that Newcastle now face.
Yes, Newcastle may have been named among the top 20 highest revenue generating clubs in world football last month by Deloitte, but the Magpies were still behind Everton, Leeds United, Leicester City and West Ham in the table. That shows the gap Newcastle still have to close commercially and this is where life in Europe could be a game-changer.
Not only would playing in the Champions League or Europa League generate income when it comes to qualification fees, prize money and gate receipts, it would also give Newcastle further cachet when it comes to striking commercial deals. Justifying lucrative sponsorship agreements are of fair market value is certainly a lot easier when a club sits at Europe's top table. Whether that happens this season or next, the Premier League will be watching every move with interest as Newcastle already know.
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