Legal expert assesses Aston Villa claim against Manchester City after Gabby Agbonlahor rant
Gabby Agbonlahor could soon be vindicated should Aston Villa seek compensation from Manchester City, a legal expert has told Villa News.
It is the story that everyone in English football is talking about.
The Premier League released a statement on Tuesday to confirm the Citizens are guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of PSR.
They are deemed to have inflated their own revenue to the tune of £900million between 2009 and 2018.
A punishment is still yet to be decided, but that could be the least of the Sky Blues' concern.
Compensation from clubs, players and managers could be in the pipeline, with Agbonlahor leading his own complaint against Man City.
Gabby Agbonlahor fumes at Manchester City in talkSPORT rant
The former striker has never been afraid of hitting out at financial regulations.
They have seriously impacted the Villans over the years and prompted them to sell a number of key players in the latest summer window.
That is now in the back of Agbonlahor's mind as it is an issue from his playing days that is now at the fore.
He has raised the point that Man City used their artificially inflated finances to buy three star players from Villa Park in the nine-year period at hand.
Speaking live via talkSPORT on Monday, the ex-B6 star said: "I played in that era, 2009 to 2018. We got relegated in 2016, for six seasons I played in it.
"You know what they did in 2009? They took our best player, Gareth Barry. You know what they did in 2010? They took our best player, James Milner. You know what they did in 2014? They took our best player, Fabian Delph.
"As a Villa player in that era. a bunch of cheaters have taken our best players, we've gone to the Etihad and got some spankings from Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and David Silva, where did they get the money from to buy these players?"
This rant has certainly caused a stir, but Agbonlahor may actually be spot on.
Legal expert backs Aston Villa for claim against Manchester City
There is a suggestion that selling stars to the Etihad club could be deemed to have contributed to a loss in earnings.
That is the point that Agbonlahor is putting across as someone who was right there in the Bodymoor Heath dressing room.
He has now been backed up by Senior Associate at Knights, Daniel Baker.
The legal expert has represented elite-level coaches, athletes, clubs and organisations within football, including cases within the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Baker said: "Those points [from Agbonlahor] may be wrapped up in Aston Villa's compensation claim against Man City.
"There's always been a food chain with football that players may view moves that pay more or allow them to fight for trophies.
"At the same time, if Man City are in that position because they artificially inflated the money they were able to pay players, they are doing so unfairly and in breach of the rules.
"Villa may say, 'If you hadn't of made it so you had more money in the club, our players may not have agreed to sign for you.'
"Nothing can be ruled out and Agbonlahor is right to point out the limitless nature of some of these claims. I don't think it is out of the question at all."
It looks as if Agbonlahor may be spot on with this one and may have sought out part of a potential claim from B6 against Man City.