Man City hire lawyer who advised Boris Johnson during lockdown ‘Partygate’

He charges around £5,000 an hour

Manchester City have reportedly hired the lawyer who helped advise Boris Johnson during the Partygate inquiry. The Lawyer reports that Man City have brought in Blackstone Chambers’ Lord Pannick KC to help defend their case after they were charged with more than 100 breaches of the Premier League's financial rules on Monday. Pannick is widely regarded as one of the best barristers of his generation and is set to be part of a legal battle which is likely to be one of the biggest - and most expensive - sports law battles in history. His experience will come at a price for the reigning champions with Pannick allegedly charging around £5,000 an hour, but he has been known to request up to £10,000. At the top end of that price scale - come the trial when he'd be working full-time - Pannick could be paid £80,000 a day. That total equates to roughly £400,000 a week, the same amount Kevin De Bruyne earns in a week. Even at £5,000 an hour, Pannick would earn more than all but seven of the club's players. City are also awaiting the verdict from the independent commission, who will decide the level of punishment the club will face. A number of possibilities have been speculated, ranging from a points deduction to expulsion from the Premier League. The future of Pep Guardiola is now also in doubt with staff at the club expecting the Spaniard to leave the Etihad Stadium before any potential sanctions come into effect. Back in 2022, Guardiola said that he would walk away from the club if they had lied to him about the charges against them. Guardiola said: "I said to them, 'If you lie to me, I am not here. I will be out.'" Related links:

• Man City will not be allowed to appeal any FFP punishments to Court of Arbitration for Sport
• Premier League clubs reportedly want the strongest punishment possible for Man City if found guilty
• Erik ten Hag refuses to comment on Man City charges