New Man City priority emerges as Premier League handed another major blow

For anyone hoping for a quiet international break on the Manchester City front, they would have been left bitterly disappointed.

Following Monday's bombshell legal win against the Premier League after a panel deemed both current and original Associated Party Transaction (APT) Rules to be unlawful, further big news emerged from the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening.

City's sporting director Txiki Begiristain is expected to leave the club at the end of the season and, naturally, attention has now turned towards who will replace him at the Etihad Stadium.

With all that in mind, here are all of the latest Manchester City headlines wrapped up on Wednesday, October 9.

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New contract priority

News broke on Tuesday night of Txiki Begiristain's intention to step down at the end of the season. It comes as no surprise to his colleagues at City, with his plans well-known for a number of years. Begiristain turned 60 in August and is said to be ready for a less-intensive lifestyle.

His potential exit has been a very realistic possibility within the City Football Academy for some time, so City have had time to prepare a succession plan. Indeed, reports say a replacement has already been lined up and will begin work in early 2025, ensuring a transitional period to minimise the disruption of such a key figure.

The natural question is how Begiristain's exit will impact Pep Guardiola's future. Given how little of a surprise the news will be inside the club, Guardiola will have been aware of his colleague's intention throughout his decision-making process. In that respect, nothing has changed in regard to the factors Guardiola will be weighing up over his own future.

Guardiola has worked without Begiristain before, too. Begiristain left Barcelona two years before Guardiola did, and wasn't at Bayern Munich when Guardiola was there. While City must future-proof their hierarchy for life without Guardiola, any new sporting director must surely be able to work with him should the manager be persuaded to sign an extension.

For that reason, the director of football appointment is now arguably more important than Guardiola's contract.

Read Joe Bray's full column, here.

Government blow for the Premier League

The government will not step in to help the Premier League after they were proven to have acted unlawfully and discriminatory this week in a landmark court defeat.

Manchester City challenged the Premier League over their Associated Party Transaction rules, and were victorious in front of an independent tribunal, who found the rules were unlawful, discriminatory and went against UK competition law. The verdict also said the Premier League abused its dominant position, and while it supported the need for APT rules, it ruled that they must be changed in their current form.

In response, Culture Secretary has refused to back the Premier League, telling it to sort out the problems as it presses ahead with introducing an Independent Regulator. The Premier League have opposed the concept of such a regulator, although this week's verdict highlighted the need for one.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, whose remit covers sport, was speaking on Sky News on Wednesday, and she offered a blunt response to the City verdict: resolve it yourself.

“I think there have been lots of issues in football, but the biggest issue that the Government is involved with is the issue about sustainability," she said. “The question of the Premier League is a matter for the Premier League and for the clubs to resolve amongst themselves.

“What I’m really focused on is making sure that we have a sustainable, fair game, from the Premier League – which is a great British export, and it brings great joy to people – all the way through the Championship clubs to the grassroots.

“That’s why we’re introducing the independent football regulator through legislation which we announced in the King’s Speech. I’m really excited to say that we’ll be introducing that very shortly.”

You can read the full story, here.

Haaland shows true colours

Just as if he was facing a Premier League defence, Erling Haaland took no prisoners when he made a rare press conference appearance on Wednesday.

Away from Manchester City, Haaland has been appointed Norway captain for this week's fixtures in the absence of Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard. He said he would simply 'be himself' when wearing the armband in a straight-to-the-point response that set the tone for a box-office half-hour in front of the cameras.

Haaland doesn't like press conferences. He has enough media commitments by virtue of being one of the world's best players. He has only faced the written media three times during his time at City, with one being his unveiling and the other coming over the summer in the relatively safe environments of pre-season.

He has a similar aversion to press conferences for Norway. One last season and now one this term. But like an inviting cross into the box, he didn't waste the opportunity to make sure he made his point emphatically and with no more exertion than is needed to be most effective.

He assessed the room as he sat down and there was an early volley back at a journalist who asked if his appointment as temporary captain would see him stop for an interview after his games this week. "We’ll see if anyone wants to ask me any interesting questions."

Read the full story, here.