The Citizens “could now come to an agreement and take a penalty” since the “decision has been made”.

According to a former Premier League chairman, Man City would now “settle and impose a penalty” while the hearing into alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules is ongoing.

A hearing to consider 115 Premier League charges brought against the club began on September 16 when the Citizens’ legal team, pictured, arrived at the IDRC near St Paul’s Cathedral in central London.

The hearing was reportedly scheduled to last ten weeks, with the independent commission’s verdict not expected until the new year.

The prosecution is pending Man Citywhich won a fourth consecutive Premier League title in May, dates back to the 2009/10 season.

The club, which is also accused of failing to co-operate with the investigation, is understood to face a range of penalties, including a heavy points penalty or even expulsion from the Premier League, if found guilty.

Man City were charged by the league in February 2023 following a lengthy investigation into allegations published by German magazine Der Spiegel in autumn 2018.

The Premier League club denies any wrongdoing and has previously said it has a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” to support its stance.

But former Everton chairman Keith Wyness reckons Man City can “settle and take a penalty” and hopes “common sense will prevail”.

Wyness told Football Insider: “I think the Premier League definitely wants to put this behind them and learn better lessons about how to regulate the game.”

“Man City cannot continue to fight these battles. When it comes to PR and global public image, they know they have to put an end to it.

“Everyone loves the football he played, but there is a cloud hanging over him. It is in everyone’s interest to solve this problem that has been going on for so long.

“But if an agreement is reached, there must be a clear reason. It could be that both sides have very good cases.

“I hope common sense will prevail. I think Man City would settle for a penalty. I would like to be a fly on the wall at these hearings.

“Still, it will all come out in the wash – and hopefully it won’t drag on for years, which can certainly happen.”

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A vote to change the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules was withdrawn ahead of a club meeting on Thursday, but reports suggest the changes were only minor.

Reports on Thursday linked the decision to withdraw a vote related to the database, a tool used by the league’s board to assess fair market value in commercial deals, to Man City’s legal challenge to APT rules.

The reports suggested that this suggested a potential victory for the club in the case, but former Man City financial advisor Stefan Borson believes the Citizens likely suffered a significant loss in their case.

“From what I’ve heard, it appears the decision has been made,” Borson said Football Insider. “It was not published and not passed on to the Premier League clubs.

“It must never be shared with the clubs. It should never be shared publicly and is unlikely to be shared publicly.

“But I think once the decision has been made City only have a very small concession at best because the rules on the Premier League website have not changed.

“If you continue like this, the rulebook is still the rulebook from July this year. That could change in the coming days.

“But in the absence of a wholesale change to this section of the rules, I would suggest that if the result falls into the Premier League and the press reports it, there is a good chance that City will have lost significantly. “I have one or two on various bits and pieces Concessions made.

“This could relate to the database, which is a system that requires all clubs to submit their business transactions over £100,000 so that the league has a basis for doing so when submitting new transactions under the associated parties regime.” to analyze them for their fair market value.”