Nathan Ake admitted to a sense of relief that Manchester City finally broke their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium curse to stay on track to defend their FA Cup crown.

The holders squandered a number of chances in Friday’s fourth-round tie at Spurs before Ake poked home from close range with two minutes left.

It represented City’s first goal at Tottenham’s new home at the sixth time of asking and the centre-back conceded it felt like being another night to forget until his timely intervention.

“So happy. It was tough but we played really well over the whole game. We just had to score and it didn’t happen again for a long time. I was thinking is it going to happen but luckily we got it,” Ake said.

“I think trusting the way we played (was key). We played really well, created numerous chances and just the belief to keep going. Even though we didn’t score, just to keep going, keep trying and in the end we got it.

“I thought it is never going to come but finally we’ve done it.”

The introduction of Kevin De Bruyne proved crucial and it was his corner which created Ake’s 88th-minute winner.

De Bruyne had been left red-faced six minutes earlier when he curled wide with only Guglielmo Vicario to beat, but made amends with an exceptional set-piece delivery.

The 1-0 win made it seven victories in a row for City, who remain in the hunt for another treble after claiming Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League success last season.

Ake told ITV: “I think it was important to go through, we want to fight for every competition and this was a big step forward.”

Following a lacklustre first half, all eyes were on when De Bruyne and fit-again Spurs playmaker James Maddison would get the nod to come on.

Maddison made his first appearance since he sustained ankle ligament damage on November 6, but only touched the ball six times as Tottenham struggled to gain a foothold in the contest.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou hoped Maddison would be better for his 17-minute cameo with games to come against Brentford and Everton next week.

“Knowing the nature of the game, he’s trained well this week-and-a-half but he’s missed a lot of football,” Postecoglou explained.

“We were hoping to get him some minutes, which he did and he should be right to go from now on, but there’s another two games next week and we need him and others to pitch in.

“So, yeah it wasn’t really much of a dilemma about whether to start him or not. I just felt that coming off the bench was going to be better for us as a team more than anything else.”

Pep Guardiola lauded an unbelievable performance from his Manchester City side after they ended their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium goal drought with a narrow 1-0 away win.

City had failed to score in their previous five trips to Spurs’ home and an FA Cup fourth-round replay looked on the cards when substitute Kevin De Bruyne inexplicably fired wide from 16 yards with eight minutes left.

The breakthrough did finally arrive for the visitors with 88 minutes on the clock when Guglielmo Vicario flapped at De Bruyne’s corner with Ruben Dias in close proximity and Nathan Ake poked home from close range to end the FA Cup holders barren run at Tottenham.

“Deserved it? I think so but football is about scoring, not conceding and the statistics were really good today,” Guardiola explained.

“If you see the stats from the past when we come here, we could not score and could not win.

“Yeah, we are really pleased of course to win against this team away, score a goal and go through. We defend the title and the way we play, we proved we defend it really well.

“Unbelievable. The performance was top, top class. These players prove again the reason why they have done what they have done in the past.”

City had the ball in the net after five minutes but Oscar Bobb was adjudged to be marginally offside after Vicario had thwarted Foden from close range.

Spurs barely had a kick in the first half and while Brennan Johnson was denied by Stefan Ortega at the start of the second period, it proved the hosts’ only shot all match.

Guardiola’s team continued to press for their maiden goal at Tottenham’s stadium and after Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne and substitute Jeremy Doku all failed to make the most of promising situations late on, Ake produced the goods with two minutes left.

It was a dangerous delivery from De Bruyne which caused panic in the Spurs box on only his third appearance since his lengthy lay-off following a serious hamstring injury sustained last season.

Asked if De Bruyne was fit enough to start, Guardiola said: “He is ready. Ready to play.

“Sooner or later he will play from the beginning, but it’s not just about that. For many reasons we want to protect him and Kevin, today I always knew he was going to create.

“These type of games at the end, it was a little bit more open and we had that feeling. It is important he feels good after his hamstring problem and he made an exceptional corner in the right spot. We knew it, so yeah it’s really good.”

Guardiola also reflected on the news on Friday morning that great rival Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of the season and dispelled any talk that he could follow suit.

“I am fine. Still one more year I want to do it and maybe extend (past 2025), so I am fine,” Guardiola insisted.

Meanwhile, opposite number Ange Postecoglou cut a frustrated figure after Spurs exited the FA Cup following a lacklustre display, which will all but ensure the club’s trophy drought will extend into a 17th year.

Postecoglou admitted: “We fought hard to stay in the game but to be honest that’s all we did, we stayed in the game.

“They’re a top team. They’re the benchmark. We’re not there yet and we’re under no illusion about that.

“I just felt that all of the second half was ok, the first half we were just too passive in a lot of our play and allowed them to get a rhythm.”

Pep Guardiola joked that he will sleep better once Jurgen Klopp has left Liverpool – and backed his long-time rival to return to management one day.

Klopp made the shock announcement on Friday morning that he will be quitting Anfield at the end of the season after nine years in charge.

Guardiola joined City a year after Klopp arrived on Merseyside, and the duo have been jostling at the top of English football almost ever since, with the German ending Liverpool’s 30-year wait for the title in 2020.

They had previously locked horns for two years in Germany with Guardiola at Bayern Munich and Klopp in charge of Borussia Dortmund, and have faced each other more than any other manager – a total of 29 times.

The two clubs have since met in the Premier League on 15 occasions in an enduring rivalry which Guardiola once described as “beautiful”, with City winning five matches, Liverpool four and the other six finishing as draws.

Guardiola, whose side currently trail leaders Liverpool by five points but have a game in hand, said: “I will sleep better. Before playing against Liverpool was always a nightmare.

“Of course he will be missed. It was shock to everyone. As Manchester City we will lose something, we cannot define our period without him and without Liverpool.

“He is the best rival I have had in my career. The Premier League will miss his charisma and personality. I wish him all the best.”

Klopp plans to take a year off after leaving Liverpool and then see how he feels but has ruled out a return to management in England.

Guardiola, who took a year-long sabbatical from football after leaving Barcelona in 2012 before taking charge at Bayern Munich, has no doubts that the German will return to the dugout at some point.

The Spaniard added: “He will not admit it but he will be back. I know it. Maybe in 10 years time, when he’s charged his energy. I’m saying this personality will be back. With national team, I don’t know.

“Nine years in the same place, maybe he needs to breathe, to step back. At Barcelona I had that feeling.

“But football needs personalities like him. Hopefully next season we will have time to go out for dinner together.”

Nathan Ake’s 88th-minute tap-in helped Manchester City end their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hoodoo and progress into the FA Cup fifth round after a 1-0 away victory.

Pep Guardiola’s side had failed to score in their previous five visits to Spurs’ home and that unwanted record looked set to extend until Ake bundled home from close range after Guglielmo Vicario flapped at Kevin De Bruyne’s corner.

All eyes had been on De Bruyne and Tottenham playmaker James Maddison after a lacklustre first half and while the former helped break the deadlock, it was an uncharacteristic City goal that fired them to a seventh straight win.

Ange Postecoglou’s team could have little complaints and this cup loss means the club’s trophy drought will almost certainly extend into a 17th year.

These teams had played out a 3-3 draw at the Etihad last month, but both the club’s respective top goalscorers Son Heung-min and Erling Haaland were absent while playmakers Maddison and De Bruyne had to be content with a place on the bench.

City’s notoriously poor record at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was well documented and Guardiola’s side almost broke their duck in the fifth minute when Oscar Bobb tapped home on the goal line.

Bobb pounced after Vicario had denied Phil Foden from close range, but City youngster Bobb was adjudged by VAR to be marginally offside and it remained 0-0.

The visitors continued to seek a maiden goal at this venue and after Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic had efforts blocked, Guardiola let out his first sign of exasperation when Josko Gvardiol sent a cross into the stand.

Spurs had barely had a kick but were given some unexpected respite when a three-minute delay to proceedings occurred due to one of Paul Tierney’s assistant referees having an issue with his technical equipment.

When play did get back under way, normal service resumed and a succession of last-ditch defending denied City in the 41st-minute with Bobb’s left-footed strike thwarted by Pedro Porro’s block.

Foden was the next to try his luck but fired wide from Bobb’s cut back to ensure it was goalless at the break.

Micky van de Ven made a vital intervention straight after half-time when Julian Alvarez had a sight of goal before Tottenham finally caused a moment of panic for the away side.

Timo Werner sent Brennan Johnson through on goal, but City’s back-up goalkeeper Stefan Ortega was out quick to dive at the feet of the forward.

It reenergised the home crowd although Guardiola turned to his ace in the pack with 65 minutes on the clock when De Bruyne was introduced.

Postecoglou followed suit eight minutes later and Maddison earned a hero’s reception on his return, but his first involvement was to bundle Silva to the floor in the penalty area.

Referee Tierney waved away appeals before Spurs and in particular Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg received two slices of luck.

A Hojbjerg air kick allowed Silva a chance but he fired straight at Vicario before Tottenham’s Danish midfielder gave away possession to Foden.

Foden teed up De Bruyne, who inexplicably curled wide from 16 yards and when Vicario saved from Jeremy Doku moments later, a replay was on the cards.

Ake had other ideas and when Vicario flapped at De Bruyne’s corner, the City defender was on hand to poke home and send the holders through to the last 16.

Kalvin Phillips has revealed his loan move to West Ham ends a near two-year long pursuit by manager David Moyes.

The England midfielder has joined the Hammers for the remainder of the season after struggling for game time at Manchester City.

The 28-year-old has made just two Premier League starts for Pep Guardiola’s side since moving to the Etihad Stadium from Leeds in a £42million deal in the summer of 2022.

Phillips completed the move on Friday after West Ham rekindled an interest they first showed when he left Leeds.

Phillips told the club’s Iron Cast podcast: “I’m delighted. I was in Abu Dhabi with City, a warm-weather training camp, and all I could think about was getting a loan sorted.

“I spoke to ‘Moyesy’ over the phone while I was there. He reassured me that this was probably the best place for me to come on loan and that I’ll love every second and minute of it, and so far I have done. I’m very happy coming here. I’m looking forward to getting going.

“I think, honestly, if City hadn’t come in for me 18 months ago, then West Ham would have been the club I would’ve come to. It was always in the pipeline.

“Moyesy, he’s been after me for two years, he told me on the phone. So eventually, it was going to happen.”

Phillips was part of City’s treble-winning squad last season but, on a personal front, it was a frustrating campaign.

Injury initially restricted his opportunities but Guardiola could not find a clear role for him in his side and he rarely featured.

With the situation not improving this season, Phillips decided to seek opportunities elsewhere.

It was initially thought the loan move would include an option for West Ham to buy the player this summer but it is understood that is not part of the final agreement.

Phillips’ future beyond this summer will therefore be determined at a later date. In the meantime, he has a chance to build form and fitness that might boost his chances of retaining his place in the England squad ahead of Euro 2024.

He could also be part of an exciting end to the season with the Hammers, who are sixth in the Premier League and through to the Europa League knockout stage.

His debut may come as the club host Bournemouth in the league next Thursday.

Phillips said: “I’ve looked at the fixtures. Bournemouth and then United in Manchester. I’m ready and raring to go.

“I’m very excited to be here. It’s been a whirlwind few days but I’m here, I’m ready to play and I’ll give everything for the team.”

Moyes believes Phillips will be a good addition at the London Stadium.

The Scot said: “We’ve been big admirers of him for a long time and we believe that he will add strength and competition to our squad.

“Kalvin is an England international midfielder with proven Premier League experience. We’re excited to welcome him into the group and look forward to working with him.”

Ange Postecoglou has praised Tottenham vice-captain Cristian Romero for stepping up in Son Heung-min’s absence.

Spurs are without current skipper Son due to his international commitments with South Korea and Romero is set to wear the armband again in Friday’s FA Cup tie with Manchester City.

Romero was captain for the 2-2 draw at Manchester United two weeks ago and Postecoglou talked up his growing leadership qualities.

He said: “There’s definitely a void there but with all these things there’s definitely opportunities. That’s where Romero has really stepped up.

“You just feel it around the place. He knows that Sonny’s not here and he knows what Sonny does on a daily basis.

“Sonny gets around everyone in the building and says, ‘how you going?’ and Cristian’s doing that now. I can see that. In training he’s a lot more vocal than he was in the past. That’s the beauty of it.

“There is a void because you’re missing one of your leaders, but for me, on the outside, you’re kind of waiting on, ‘is anyone going to step up here because we’re going to need someone to or do I need to interject myself into it?’ But he’s stepped up.

“There’s been others too, Vic (Guglielmo Vicario) in goal, he’s stepped up.”

Postecoglou watched his team endure a horrid November period where they were hit with a string of absentees.

Spurs were able to regroup during December and while they remain without Son, Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma due to the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations respectively, the Australian feels the adversity has accelerated the growth of his young group in his debut campaign in charge.

“There’s a really good feeling amongst the group at the moment over where they’re at,” Postecoglou added.

“They understand that because of what we’ve been through, ‘OK, somebody’s missing, man down, but somebody fills that void and we keep going until they come back’. I think it’s been good for the growth of the team.

“This year for me is about growth. You don’t want to orchestrate these scenarios where we get challenged and have players missing, but the fact that we’ve gone through it, I just think has accelerated our growth.

“We could have flown through this first half of the year and I’m sure all the questions to me would’ve been, ‘what happens when there’s a hiccup?’ and I wouldn’t have been able to answer that question.

“I’d bluff my way through it but I wouldn’t have been able to really answer it.

“But I already know, I’ve seen the resilience and part of that is how I’ve dealt with those absences.”

Kalvin Phillips has completed his loan move from Manchester City to West Ham, the clubs have announced.

The England midfielder will spend the rest of the season at the London Stadium.

The 28-year-old has been frustrated by a lack of game time at City since joining the club from Leeds in the summer of 2022.

Phillips told the Hammers’ website: “I’m really pleased to be here. There’s always been a lot of speculation about me moving to West Ham, so I’m really excited to get going now.

“There’s so much to look forward to in the second half of the season for the club and I can’t wait to be part of it.

“There’s an unbelievable group here and if I can come in and add the quality that I know I’m capable of, I’m sure we can give the West Ham fans plenty to be excited about between now and the end of the season.”

It had been reported the deal could include an option for West Ham to buy the player in the summer but it is understood that was not included in the final agreement.

Ange Postecoglou knows James Maddison is eager to make up for lost time but has admitted the Tottenham playmaker found his spell on the sidelines tough.

Maddison will return for Friday’s visit of Manchester City in the FA Cup after almost three months without football due to ankle ligament damage.

It halted Maddison’s brilliant start to life at Spurs and Postecoglou revealed the England midfielder struggled at times during the longest absence of his career.

“Not low but it was tough for him, because he does love his football, he loves the environment of football clubs, he loves the dressing room,” Postecoglou said.

“He’s kind of a force within that. It’s hard for all players when they’ve got to go through rehab, especially a character like him.

“I suggest that our sports science staff wouldn’t enjoy the one-on-one with Madders. He’s more of a guy who wants to be in the group.

“We did send him away in the middle of it. We felt it was good for him to get away with his family, we sent a physio with him (to Dubai).

“I think that helped bridge that time. When he got back from that, he was refreshed.

“Once he could see the finish line of ‘OK, I’m getting to the tail end of it,’ you could see his spirits lift. It’s been good to get him back.

“I know what Madders expects and, in training, you wouldn’t know that he’s missed so much. The quality is there straight away and everyone notices it and he’s looking good physically.

“And he’s the kind of guy who will want to make up for lost time and come back in and make an impact straight away.”

Spurs have not played for two weeks and the break has enabled Maddison to return to full fitness while Ben Davies and Dane Scarlett have recovered from hamstring problems.

Dejan Kulusevski is also available after illness ruled him out of the 2-2 draw at Manchester United a fortnight ago, but Giovani Lo Celso is still sidelined with a muscle issue.

Postecoglou gave his squad four days off during their mid-season break and, while plenty travelled far and wide to the likes of Dubai and Miami, the coach stayed at home to catch up with his family, who were in Australia for Christmas, and also put plans in place for the future.

He added: “My family were away and they just got back, so it was some quiet time at home.

“I kind of use those moments to look a bit farther down and see stuff that needs to do. While the cold face of it is games to prepare for and win, there is some longer-term stuff I am still keen to build within the club.

“You start mapping out those things and see if we can make an impact now or a bit later or when we are going to make an impact.

“It all helps you to get to where you want. Everybody wants to get away but even if I got away I would be thinking along those lines.

“I take what I do really seriously and I feel that sometimes if I switch off for too long, I am kind of missing something. That is the way I am wired.”

Pep Guardiola has joked Manchester United should name a stand after Omar Berrada if their incoming chief executive proves to have the magic touch.

Berrada quit his role as chief football operations officer at rivals Manchester City last weekend after being offered the senior position at Old Trafford.

The appointment is a major coup for United with Berrada having been a key off-field part of City’s recent triumphs, but Guardiola has warned that his fellow Spaniard is no instant guarantee of success.

The City manager said: “Obviously his knowledge goes to United, that’s the reality.

“When you buy a player from another club you buy the knowledge that this player has had in the past with other managers and team-mates. That is normal.

“We learned a lot from Omar and he’s learned a lot from the club, and now he’s gone to United.

“But Kevin De Bruyne is still in Man City, De Bruyne will play here. Erling Haaland will play here, so in the end it’s not that simple. Otherwise, with the power of United, they would have done it before.

“Maybe United think with this person everything is going to change – congratulations. I don’t know if this is going to happen.

“He is a lovely person, an incredible character, incredible professional. Yesterday I saw him, we hugged and I wished him all the best. Deeply, I wish him the best because he’s a fantastic person.

“But I don’t know if by doing this (clicks his fingers) everything is going to be sorted and it works.

“If it does happen then, oh my God, they have to make a stand for Omar Berrada in the future because he’d deserve it.”

Guardiola insists there are no hard feelings over Berrada’s departure and is confident City will appoint wisely when it comes to naming his successor.

He said: “We try to keep the best people here but this kind of thing can happen.

“The club will move forward. We’ll find a way to replace him and we’ll continue. We will be well prepared, we will adapt and adjust and move forward.”

Guardiola, meanwhile, has suggested striker Erling Haaland could return to action as the champions host Burnley in the Premier League next Wednesday.

The Norwegian has been sidelined for almost two months with a foot injury but is now back in training.

Guardiola said: “It will be eight weeks now, almost two months this or next weekend. In the process he feels good and now he needs time to make the rhythm and we’ll start to give him minutes when he is fit.

“We’ll give him three or four days and hopefully against Burnley he can play his first minutes.”

Pep Guardiola has hit back at UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin over comments the European governing body was right to punish the club for financial irregularities.

UEFA banned City from European competition for two years in February 2020 for breaching its Financial Fair Play rules but the ban was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

CAS found that some of the charges against City were “not established” and others were time-barred.

Yet Ceferin is adamant his organisation was correct, telling the Daily Telegraph: “We know we were right. We wouldn’t decide if we didn’t think we were right.”

His remarks came as City await a Premier League hearing after being charged with 115 breaches of their domestic competition’s profit and sustainability rules.

City manager Guardiola feels that by speaking out now, Ceferin has not respected the ongoing process.

Guardiola said: “As the lawyer that he is, as president of UEFA, he should wait – and after do whatever he wants.

“He has to respect it and he has to wait. He has a lot of jobs to do at UEFA. A lawyer should respect the procedure. He knows we have the right to defend ourselves.”

Guardiola was speaking at a press conference to preview his side’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at Tottenham on Friday.

City will again be without striker Erling Haaland but the Norwegian is now nearing a return after almost two months out with a foot injury.

Guardiola said: “He is on the verge of coming back. For Friday he is not ready but he is close.

“The training camp was good, he trained some sessions. The last few days he’s trained but it is not perfect and we will wait a little bit more.”

John Stones is back in contention after an ankle injury but fellow defender Manuel Akanji remains on the sidelines. Goalkeeper Ederson is also fit after limping off in City’s last game at Newcastle.

City have lost on all five of their previous visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium without even scoring a goal.

Guardiola said: “That is the reality, (and shows) how tough it is for us.

“Of course this is a ‘final’, a knockout game and to go through we have to score goals. Always it is a new opportunity to break it.

“The feeling is most of the times we played really good but the reality is there, no goals, five defeats – so they were much better than us.”

James Maddison is available for Tottenham’s FA Cup tie with Manchester City but boss Ange Postecoglou has yet to make a decision on whether he will start Friday’s clash.

Maddison has not played for Spurs since he sustained ankle ligament damage in a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea on November 6.

England international Maddison flourished after he moved to the club in a £40million deal from Leicester last June, scoring three goals and providing six assists in 12 appearances, and he will return to action against FA Cup holders Man City.

Postecoglou revealed: “He’s trained all week and he is fine.

“He is available and ready to start… when someone is available I assume they are ready to start.

“Whether they do or not depends on what I see with everyone else tomorrow and I usually make those decisions on game day.

“Like I said, the beauty of it is he’s got through the week really well and is ready to go.”

Manchester City have completed a move for highly-rated Argentinian midfielder Claudio Echeverri from River Plate, the Premier League champions have announced.

The 18-year-old, who is understood to have cost City in the region of £12.5million with add-ons, has signed a contract until the summer of 2028, but will remain at River until January next year.

A statement on the club’s official website said: “Manchester City have completed the signing of Argentinian midfielder Claudio Echeverri from River Plate.

“Everyone at Manchester City is looking forward to welcoming Claudio to the club and we wish him the best of luck in his remaining time with River.”

Echeverri will travel the same path as Julian Alvarez, who arrived at the Etihad Stadium from River Plate in 2022.

The teenager, who turned 18 earlier this month, has already made six senior appearances for the Buenos Aries club, which is managed by former City defender Martin Demichelis, and captained Argentina to the semi-finals of the Under-17 World Cup in November and December last year.

Echeverri, who has trained with the senior national team, scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 quarter-final victory over Brazil, but saw his side lose out on penalties to Germany in the last four.

Kalvin Phillips is undergoing a medical at West Ham on Thursday ahead of his loan switch from Manchester City.

The England midfielder has agreed a move to the London Stadium until the end of the season.

West Ham will have an option to buy Phillips once the loan deal is over.

The PA news agency understands the loan deal will be announced either later on Thursday or on Friday morning.

Phillips joined City from Leeds for £45million on a six-year contract in July 2022.

But the 28-year-old has never managed to hold down a regular spot in Pep Guardiola’s side and has not started a single Premier League match this season.

Crystal Palace and Newcastle were also interested in Phillips but he has opted for West Ham, who are currently sixth in the table and in the last 16 of the Europa League.

Phillips knows he needs game time with Euro 2024 coming up this summer.

Hammers boss David Moyes is also looking to offload players with Algeria winger Said Benrahma likely to leave before the transfer window closes.

Ajax’s Steven Bergwijn is a potential replacement for Benrahma with Moyes keen to build on West Ham’s strong first half of the season.

Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City have all slipped down the rankings in the latest Deloitte Football Money League as clubs from continental Europe gained ground.

Liverpool have had the biggest fall of any club in the top 20, from third place down to seventh, after Deloitte found their revenue had dropped slightly from £594.3million to £593.8m.

Deloitte attributed that fall to the Reds’ on-field performance, with the club finishing fifth in the Premier League last season and bowing out in the Champions League last 16.

Manchester United dropped one place to fifth despite a healthier revenue figure than the season before, while treble winners City were leapfrogged by Real Madrid and now sit second, despite posting a record Premier League revenue figure in their most recent accounts.

The Money League looks at revenue figures reported in clubs’ annual accounts for the 2022-23 season and does not look at operating costs.

Tottenham and Chelsea switched places compared to last year, with Spurs up one place to eighth, while Arsenal held on to 10th position.

Real led the way with revenue of £723m in 2022-23, demonstrating the club are doing well out of European football’s current ecosystem, despite their president Florentino Perez being arguably the most staunch advocate for a Super League.

Paris St Germain enter the top three for the first time, while Barcelona moved up three places to seventh with a revenue figure of £696m.

Tim Bridge, the lead partner in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told the PA news agency: “There is a point in time, a moment here, where you’ve got Real Madrid and Barcelona redeveloping their stadiums, they have made moves towards controlling much more of their operations, particularly merchandising and licensing, so those revenue figures are a result of direct changes they have made to their business model.

“When we look at the Premier League holistically we’re not 100 per cent certain the days of significant domestic growth in media rights is over, but what we can say is, without significant competition coming into that market, then single-figure percentage growth is the likely outcome in that domestic market. Therefore the focus is on what can be done in the international market.

“What has always underpinned the fact there have been 10 or 11 Premier League clubs in the Money League has been that the media rights growth has given them significant distributions. Other leagues have caught up and there has been a slight plateauing of Premier League rights.”

Deloitte said the top 20 clubs had earned 10.5billion euros (£9bn) collectively, a 14 per cent increase on the previous season.

Barcelona Femeni were the top-earning women’s club in the world, with revenue rising by 74 per cent to £11.6m.

UEFA’s investigators were “right” to ban Manchester City from European competition after finding they had breached financial regulations, its president Aleksander Ceferin has said.

City were handed a two-year suspension in February 2020 by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), but the penalty was overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in July of that year.

CAS found some of the alleged breaches were “not established”, while others were time-barred. The club’s fine for failing to co-operate with CFCB investigators was reduced by CAS to 10 million euros (£8.6m).

Ceferin, however, has backed his organisation’s process.

“We know we were right. We wouldn’t decide if we didn’t think we were right,” Ceferin told the Daily Telegraph.

“As a trial lawyer for 25 years, I know that, sometimes, you win a case that you are sure you will lose,” he added.

“And, sometimes, you lose a case when you’re sure… You have to respect the decision of the court. I don’t want to speak about the case in England. But I trust that the decision of our independent body was correct.”

The case in England Ceferin mentioned was the decision of the Premier League in February last year to refer City to an independent commission, charged with more than 100 breaches of the competition’s financial rules.

City said they looked forward to presenting “irrefutable evidence” to the commission against the charges brought.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters told the Culture, Media and Sport select committee last week that a date has been set for the commission hearing, but declined to say what that date was.

Defending the length of the City process when compared to other cases such as Everton’s brought under the league’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), Masters said the City case was different “in volume and character” to Everton’s case, or that involving Nottingham Forest.