If you want a metaphor for the state of contemporary politics, you could do worse than keep an eye on the football. Not Euro 24, the tournament that begins at the end of the week, though it should be gripping, but rather the off-field drama created by a legal case that Manchester City is bringing against the Premier League, a case that could have major ramifications both within and beyond the game.
The Premier League is the wealthiest national football league, and Manchester City the most prestigious club within it, having just been crowned champions for an unprecedented fourth year in a row. Last year it had the greatest revenue generated by any Premier League club, the highest commercial revenues, and the largest wage bill.
So, why is it gearing up for a legal battle? Because it wants to be able to spend even more money than it already does. And to do so, it wants to tear up some of the regulations that restrict spending in the name of more equitable competition, in particular the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, which insist that any commercial transactions made by a club with companies linked to their owners must not be artificially inflated but must reflect “market value”.
All this may sound like an arcane issue about football finance of interest only to sports geeks, but it gets to the heart of much of what is wrong with the game. And in Manchester City’s self-portrayal of its attempt to overthrow these rules, we catch a glimpse also of the perversity of contemporary politics. A club that stands at the pinnacle of the footballing elite presents its case not as a dispute among a group of mega-rich owners about how they apportion their riches,........