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Shocking starts for the Big Six are rare but not unheard of, with each having had a stinker in the 34 years since the Premier League began.

Tottenham are in the midst of their own abysmal start to the season as they have failed to win any of their first five, but where does that rank in history?

Here’s the worst Premier League starts of each of the Big Six after five games.

Statistically, Manchester City’s worst was in the 1995/96 campaign when they managed just one point, but judging City pre-2008 feels like judging how good Peter Parker was at climbing before he got bit by a spider.

Since the Abu Dhabi takeover, City’s worst season was actually last year when they managed just seven points from their opening five games.

Back-to-back defeats to Tottenham and then Brighton gave Pep Guardiola just three points from the opening trio of games and it took a 3-0 win against Manchester United and a 1-1 draw with Arsenal to steady the ship.

City finished the year second, seven points off Arsenal, in Pep Guardiola’s last season.

You will not be surprised that United’s two joint worst attempts have both come in the post-Ferguson era.

The first was the 2014/15 season in what was Louis van Gaal’s first year in charge. The Dutchman began his tenure with no wins in his first three games; QPR at home was United’s only victory in their first five.

United then got thumped 5-3 by Leicester in what was the first time the club lost a Premier League game after having a two-goal lead.

That left them on five points – which is exactly the tally they find themselves on now.

Michael Carrick, who was a part of the 2014/15 squad, has masterminded his own stuttering start. United’s sole win came against newly-promoted Ipswich but a full month has passed since then.

This season is technically the worst with United’s eight goals scored and eight conceded one worse than the 2014/15 team’s nine goals for and eight against.

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Arsenal lost Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy in the summer of 2011 and understandably, the team had an awful start to the following campaign.

They drew 0-0 away at Newcastle before a 2-0 loss to Liverpool preceded the most embarrassing result in Arsenal’s history, an 8-2 thrashing by Manchester United.

Any other manager would have been sacked there and then but Arsene Wenger held on, registering his first win with a 1-0 victory over Swansea.

A 4-3 defeat away at Blackburn then left the Gunners on five points with a goal difference of -8, the worst in the division.

Even before you started reading this, you could probably have guessed that Chelsea’s worst start came in one of Jose Mourinho’s many blow-ups.

Having won the league in his second season back at the club, the third-season curse came crashing down as Chelsea failed to win any of their first five games.

They were not particularly difficult fixtures either. A trip to the Etihad was the only Big Six game Chelsea faced and they lost to both Palace and Everton, which was the same number of defeats they had in their first 19 games the season before.

The implosion was underway. Mourinho started blaming even the club doctors and by December, he was sacked.

It’s quite easy for fans to turn on a manager when he guides them to zero wins in five games, but it is quite difficult when that man is a club legend.

After Roy Hodgson’s disastrous spell, Kenny Dalglish had stepped in and was given the job for the following year, which proved to be a mistake.

To be fair to the Liverpool legend, he had a particularly hard start as they faced Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United – but all three were at home and he managed only one point.

Defeat at Stoke and a draw away to Sunderland meant Liverpool had secured just two points from their opening five games, putting them 17th in the league and ahead of only QPR and Reading.

They did recover somewhat but only to eighth and Dalglish was replaced by Brendan Rodgers.

It has been a historically bad season for Tottenham.

Their current run of two points from five games puts them 45th in the all-time worst Premier League starts to a campaign. Had it not been for the two late goals against Aston Villa, they would have been 39th.

If we remove pre-takeover City, it is the worst start by a Big Six Premier League club in history, equalling the two points of Liverpool but with fewer goals scored.

And there is no obvious way out of it. Failure to win the next game would move them up potentially as high as 26th in the all-time worst and with that match being a trip to Old Trafford, there is every chance that happens.

The good news for Spurs fans is that the other poor starts by Big Six teams did not lead to relegation. But then again, none of them had finished 17th for back-to-back seasons before then.

And don’t worry Spurs fans, you’ve been through all this (and worse) before.

Back in the 2008/09 season, Spurs managed to go the first five games failing to pick up more than two points. They somehow drew with Chelsea and later Wigan but lost to the likes of Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and Hull.

Masterminding that start was Juande Ramos, who had cashed in all the credit of his League Cup win the previous season.

Juande Ramos was sacked on October 25 and Spurs got their first win of the season the very next day with Harry Redknapp in charge.

That kick-started a turn of form that saw them pick up seven points from games against Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham. Spurs finished that season in eighth.

With Manchester United registering more points in the second half of last season than any of their Premier League rivals and Tottenham spending big after a near-disastrous flirt with relegation, there was cause for optimism in both camps.

But rather than this Saturday’s evening kick-off being billed as two sides fighting it out near the top of the table, the bottom line is that it’s 12th v 20th with the pair accumulating just seven points between them (United five, Tottenham two) over the first five games.

Defeat for either will send post-match phone-in warriors into a frenzy and put further heat on the losing manager. It’s a game not to be missed.

Man Utd v Tottenham kick-off time

Man Utd v Tottenham kicks off at 5.30pm BST on Saturday, October 10 at Old Trafford.

Man Utd v Tottenham: how to watch

The game will be shown live in the UK via Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage starting from 5pm.

BBC Radio 5 Live will provide full match commentary.

Man Utd team news

The United treatment table is busy after the international break.

Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo, Karl Darlow and Benjamin Sesko withdrew from international duty before the Nations League action started.

Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui both picked up knocks while representing their countries. All will be assessed before kick-off.

Manuel Ugarte and Tom Heaton are definitely ruled out, while Amad hasn’t been seen in training since picking up an ankle injury on the eve of the Premier League opener against Hull City.

United fans could get their first sight of £70m summer signing Carlos Baleba after the midfielder played in a behind-closed-doors friendly at the club’s training ground, Carrington, last week.

Matthijs de Ligt was also involved in the friendly as he steps up his return, having not played a competitive game since November 2025.

Tottenham team news

Tottenham didn’t come through the international break unscathed either, and Dutch defenders Micky van de Ven (finger) and Jan Paul van Hecke (foot) will face late tests.

Marcos Senesi and Tosin Adarabioyo are ready to fill in if either or both centre-backs are unavailable.

Also at the back, Pedro Porro withdrew from the Spain squad with a hamstring injury, so Archie Gray could deputise at right-back.

Mykhailo Mudryk, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are all still out, but long-term injury absentee Dejan Kulusevski took part in an 11-a-side training match during the international break, so could be nearing a return after over 500 days out.

Savio and Omar Marmoush are expected to start on the flanks on their return to Manchester, with Dominic Solanke leading the line.

Man Utd v Tottenham odds

Man United have five points from their opening five games and are 8/11 to record just their second Premier League win of the campaign.

Tottenham, who prop up the table, are 10/3 to get their first top-flight win this season after two draws and three defeats. The Draw is 3/1.

Man Utd are 15/8 for a top four finish while Tottenham are just 10/1 for relegation.

Man Utd v Tottenham prediction

Tottenham still seem riddled with doubt despite the big summer spend and going into the international break propping up the table was a sorry sight for their fans.

United supporters are far from happy either but the Red Devils were unfortunate to lose the derby to City and their other home game in the Premier League saw them thrash Ipswich 5-1.

In addition, United’s underlying numbers are decent: they rank first for shots (113) and fourth for expected goals (9.89).

Bruno Fernandes was the assist king in the Premier League last season, racking up a record 21.

Back the Portuguese playmaker to set up another in a United win. That pays 11/4.

A repeat of last year’s scoreline also appeals so take the hosts at 10/1 to win 2-0.

Tottenham have been told a former striker who some fans want back will now cost €100million, with the big price tag reveal coming after some stellar form for club and country.

Spurs have scored only two goals in the Premier League this season. They’re bottom of the table as a result – below even Coventry, who have found the net just once.

Neither of the Tottenham goals so far have come from attackers, despite big money being spent on Savio, who joined from Manchester City alongside Omar Marmoush.

Struggles in front of goal have prompted some fans to clamour for the return of Troy Parrott, with one fan account asking if they’d take him back, and many saying yes – though many also suggested he’s not good enough, or wouldn’t come back.

In any case, were Tottenham to be interested in re-signing Parrott – who scored four goals in the international break and has two to his name for new club Real Betis – they’d have to part with a huge sum.

Estadio Deportivo reports there is ‘no concern’ about the prospect of Spurs or other big English clubs coming for Parrott, as they revealed he has a €100million (£85m) release clause in his Betis deal.

Indeed, triggering that would allow any side to immediately negotiate with Parrott himself, but after only four games in LaLiga and one in the Champions League, though he’s been in form, it feels too early for him to be worthy of such a big fee.

Parrott was directly involved in 43 goals for Az Alkmaar last season, but that was at a lower level than he’s playing at now.

Troy Parrott was open to English return

Ireland international Parrott was on the radar of West Ham in the summer, and our friends at TEAMtalk revealed he was open to the move.

At the time, it was suggested he viewed a move to the Premier League as an attractive next step in his career. But that would have of course seen him move to the Championship first, potentially getting promoted with the Hammers.

And while that route looked viable at the time, Parrott’s form for club and country of late suggests he should not be thinking so small.

The 24-year-old scored the winner against Lille on Champions League debut and has started games in LaLiga for the side placed third in the division.

His next step will be upwards, and it’ll be an expensive one if reports are to be believed.

Manchester United have installed Tottenham star Micky van de Ven as their No 1 target for 2027, and the Dutchman has reached a decision on whether to join in January.

Man Utd overhauled their attack in 2025, signing Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko. In the summer just gone, it was the midfield’s turn and in 2027, attention will turn to the defence.

At least three new signings are on the agenda, and according to the latest from Football Insider, the first addition might not wait until the summer.

Their reporter, Pete O’Rourke, brought news of Man Utd hoping to sign Tottenham and Netherlands ace, Micky van de Ven, in January.

He wrote: ‘Man United have made Van de Ven their top defensive target ahead of the next transfer window, while Liverpool retain an interest in his services.’

As mentioned, Liverpool are also circling over 25-year-old Van de Ven who is believed to be the club’s preferred heir to Virgil van Dijk.

That claim came via CaughtOffside a week ago, with the outlet confirming Man Utd were admirers of Van de Ven too.

Regarding cost, it was claimed sources within the industry believe a deal could be struck for a fee in the £80m-£90m range.

At that price point, Van de Ven would become the world’s most expensive defender, surpassing Harry Maguire (£80m).

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Micky van de Ven reaches decision on joining Man Utd in January

But while Man Utd reportedly want a deal done at the earliest possible opportunity, O’Rourke went on to detail why Van de Ven won’t be on the move mid-season.

The journalist explained: “He was considering his future before the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi last March, and obviously De Zerbi played a crucial role in Van de Ven’s decision to extend his stay.

“Tottenham have had a poor start to the season, there’s no getting away from that, but I don’t think that will have any massive impact on Van de Ven’s thinking right now. He’ll be confident that they can turn things around.”

Van de Ven penned fresh terms in north London in August, with De Zerbi seemingly a major factor in his decision to do so.

But with Spurs sitting rock bottom of the Premier League table despite De Zerbi being at the helm and spending hundreds of millions on new players, Van de Ven’s stance could change next summer.

If Tottenham endure yet another woeful season and De Zerbi is either fired or proven incapable of reviving Spurs’ fortunes, it would shock no one to see a player of Van de Ven’s calibre explore his exit opportunities, especially given the size and prestige of clubs chasing his signature.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Pedro Porro has a bad relationship with manager Roberto De Zerbi and wants to join Barcelona in the January transfer window, according to reports.

Porro, who cost Tottenham £40million in transfer fees in 2023, signed a new deal with the north London club in June 2026.

The Spain international right-back is under contract at Tottenham until 2031, with the option for a further year.

Porro, who won the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Spain in the summer, is on the sidelines at the moment with a hamstring injury.

According to The London Evening Standard, the 27-year-old could be back in action for Tottenham later this month.

Amid the defender’s injury problems, there has been speculation that Porro wants to leave Tottenham for Barcelona because of his bad relationship with manager Roberto De Zerbi.

READ: Man City FFP: How much compensation Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs could receive revealed

Spanish journalist Enric Canyellas, who has 40,600 followers on X, reported on September 25 that Porro wants to leave Tottenham for Barcelona.

Canyellas wrote on X at 11:05pm on September 25: “FC Barcelona is working on the possible signing of Pedro Porro ahead of the winter transfer window.

“The player would be delighted to join Hansi Flick’s squad and share a dressing room with his national team teammates.

“Another factor that could ease his departure is that Pedro Porro’s current relationship with Roberto De Zerbi is not good. The Extremaduran would like to return to Spain.

“FC Barcelona is anticipating a possible exit for Alejandro Balde, who is finding it increasingly difficult to secure playing time with the team, with very little chance of turning his situation around.

“Balde would, at first glance, be the key that would open the door to the Porro deal…”

Pedro Porro wants Barcelona move from Tottenham Hotspur

Another Spanish journalist, Juan Jesus, who has 22,600 followers on X, has now backed that claim, also stating that Porro has a bad relationship with his Tottenham boss De Zerbi.

Jesus wrote on X at 6:13pm on October 2: “Pedro Porro is actively pushing to return to Spain, whether this very winter or heading into the summer, and his top priority is FC Barcelona

“The full-back knows that Barça leads the most ambitious project for a Spanish international, surrounded by most of his national team teammates.

“The main reason for this stance is the terrible relationship he maintains with Roberto De Zerbi.

“After his recent contract renewal with Tottenham, the arrival of the Italian manager has drastically changed his outlook in London, leading to several heated confrontations both in private and publicly in front of the squad.

“As of today, Pedro Porro is much closer to leaving the Spurs than to staying.”

According to reports, Liverpool are to be blocked from signing Tottenham Hotspur star Micky van de Ven as they ‘prepare a move’ for him.

Van de Ven has had a difficult couple of years as he has been dealing with injuries and Tottenham’s struggles, though he is capable of being one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League.

The Dutchman has also been heavily linked with a transfer, even though he recently signed a contract extension until 2031.

Liverpool have been among the clubs interested in signing Van de Ven after Tottenham pipped their rivals to secure his services during the 2023 summer transfer window.

It has been suggested that the Reds could go back in for Van de Ven, partly because they could lose captain Virgil van Dijk when his current contract expires at the end of this season.

READ: Why Florian Wirtz works for Jurgen Klopp’s Germany but not yet Liverpool

Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni have impressed for Liverpool, but they would likely need to sign another centre-back if/when Van Dijk moves on next summer.

Tottenham stance on selling Micky van de Ven revealed

Van de Ven is among Liverpool’s options, but journalist Pete O’Rourke has told Football Insider that Tottenham currently have ‘no plans’ to sell the defender, while the Reds are ‘preparing a move’ to sign him.

“Tottenham are quite relaxed about this,” O’Rourke told Football Insider.

“They tied down Van de Ven to a new contract in August until 2031. So look, Tottenham hold all the aces here, he’s been made club captain as well, so I can’t imagine they’ll be too keen to lose such a key player.

“Tottenham won’t be entertaining a sale anytime soon.

“Top players will always attract interest and have suitors, but he’s under a long-term contract at Tottenham and they’re planning for life with Mickey van de Ven.”

And this may not be the end of the world for Liverpool, with former Reds star Danny Murphy explaining why he thinks Jacquet has what it takes to be Van Dijk’s successor.

“Jacquet the next Van Dijk? I think it’s inevitable when you’re a young player playing in one of the biggest teams in Europe with a big price tag on you, you’re going to get comparisons,” Murphy told Snabbare.

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“It’s just the way of the football world. There’s a lot to like, super athlete, comfortable on the ball, comes out with it with confidence. There are so many qualities he has that you need as a centre-half to succeed physically.

“Mentally, we’re going to have to see, because there’s going to be a time in the season where he’s having a bad spell, how does he come through it? If Van Dijk gets injured, how does he cope without him next to him?

“He’s already had two or three different right-backs next to him, so that’s something where he needs to build a relationship with somebody eventually.

“He’s got the potential to be a wonderful player for Liverpool, for sure, but I would be loath to start talking about him in the same breath as Van Dijk until I’ve had at least a good season looking at him and how he copes with the ups and downs of the season.”

Tottenham have been offered the chance to sign two familiar names from AC Milan in January, and Spurs are already formulating plans for a winter window assault.

Spurs entered the international break rock bottom of the Premier League, with their gigantic summer spend yet to yield any tangible improvements.

Huge money was spent on the likes of Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Savio, but familiar deficiencies in both defence and attack have resulted in Tottenham going win-less in the league so far.

Improvements are inevitable, one would think, given the calibre of player Tottenham have signed. But to ensure Spurs don’t slip into a fight to avoid relegation for a second successive season, more reinforcements in the market are on the horizon.

Our colleagues over on TEAMtalk have brought news of Spurs already putting focus on the winter window, and an intriguing opportunity has been put to the north London club.

Tottenham offered AC Milan pair

TEAMtalk insider, Graeme Bailey, revealed AC Milan have offered two players to Spurs – Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Tomori, 28, and Loftus-Cheek, 30, are both out of contract at the end of the current campaign.

Milan don’t intend to offer either players new deals, meaning the January window represents their last hope of collecting fees.

Of course, the ex-Chelsea pair will be able to negotiate pre-contract agreements leading to summer moves once they enter the final six months of their deals on January 1.

However, if Spurs are still languishing down near the wrong end of the table in the winter, the club may determine January moves are essential to give the club a better chance of beating the drop.

Tomori plays at centre-back where Tottenham made major changes to their ranks over the summer.

Cristian Romero, Luka Vuskovic and Kevin Danso departed, while Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Tosin Adarabioyo arrived.

Loftus-Cheek is a central midfielder and of the pair, his arrival would appear to be the least sense.

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In a season in which Tottenham are already out of the League Cup and have no European football, Roberto De Zerbi can already call upon an abundance of midfielders.

Tonali, Fernandes, Conor Gallagher, Rodrigo Bentancur, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall are already in situ.

Tottenham aren’t the only Premier League side to have been offered the chance to sign Loftus-Cheek and Tomori.

Frank Lampard’s Coventry City are another who’ve been contacted, as have Newcastle, Everton, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Fulham.

Legal expert Daniel Baker has revealed that “every club” below Manchester City could claim against them, and the compensation owed to Tottenham may be “massive.”

City look to be in a world of trouble. They’ve now been found guilty of all 115 charges of financial breaches in regards to inflating sponsorship payments.

There are a range of potential sanctions, from points deduction to relegation, as well as fines – the latter of which is unlikely to do a lot.

City have won a lot of silverware during the period their breaches have spanned, which means they’ve beaten sides to trophies that might otherwise have won them.

Tottenham‘s most successful era in recent seasons largely saw them outdone by City – and sometimes other clubs – and it’s felt they could be in line for a lot.

Baker, Senior Associate at Knights, who has represented a lot of clients within football, told Tottenham News: “Every Premier League place lost or gained is worth between £2m and £3m, so you’ve got potentially every club below them able to prove that if it wasn’t for Man City’s alleged cheating that they would have been financially better off.

“It’ll be a massive compensation claim for Tottenham. Those sorts of cases will be way more complex and the value of the compensation will be higher. It will be worth their while because of the loss of Europe and places because they are expensive. It’s crazy.

“That’s not even talking about player claims because of their contracts with potential incentives for qualifying for Europe in a season. If Manchester City have taken a place ahead of them, they could look to bring a claim against City on that basis.

“That could be trickier as there’s no precedent for it, but the floodgates are open and we’re in a brave new world wondering what’s ahead of us.”

Tottenham players have lost big money

Football finance expert Kieran McGuire, meanwhile, has revealed how Spurs stars have lost out on a lot of bonuses during the same period.

He said: “I think some clubs would seek a private negotiated settlement, I don’t think it would be a class action. Some have got more of an emotional relationship in this than others.

“For some it’s purely financial and then there’s a further issue about the players of those clubs who were denied the opportunity to win titles or play in the Champions League in particular.

“If you talk to players at the big six they would often say they are on a bonus of 20 per cent to 25 per cent additional income.

“If you look at the average earnings for a player in the big six, last season we were looking at £160,000 on average per week, £8m-per-year – 25 per cent of that is £2m, and multiply that by a 25-man squad and you’ve got £50m.”

In the wake of the guilty Manchester City verdict – among the greatest sporting scandals in history – why is no one but former senior Spurs scout Bryan King asking ‘well, what about Tottenham?’

The Premier League has now confirmed that an independent panel has found City guilty on all charges related to breaches of their financial regulations over a nine-year period.

It was found that City had arranged “sham” contracts with commercial partners to inflate revenues and reduce costs to the tune of over £900m.

City maintain their innocence and are expected to appeal the ruling as we wait to learn the Premier League punishment and just how much they will have to pay their rivals in damages.

READ: Manchester City cheating was ‘disgusting’ and they ‘shouldn’t see a single penny’ of Haaland sale

Many City fans, like their esteemed directors, are in denial and are also engaging in the inevitable whataboutery which comes with having your club’s cheating exposed in such undeniable and horrifying fashion.

And for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, so too is Bryan King, who worked as Tottenham’s senior scout between 2002 and 2008 and now offers up his opinions to Football Insider.

“Man City brought in the right players. Financially, whatever went on. The fact is, you can buy a player for £50m and somebody else will say, ‘we couldn’t afford him,'” King told Football Insider.

“‘He wouldn’t come to us because we couldn’t afford him.’ But there’s no guarantee that that player is going to perform. You’ve seen it in the past.

“Players have been brought in. Just look at a few of them now. They’ve been brought in for big money.”

They also brought in quite a few wrong players, Bryan. They signed Eliaquim Mangala, Wilfried Bony and Fernando in the same summer.

But also, the point is they could buy those right players – or at least some of them – because they claimed money that actually came out of their owners pockets came through sponsorship deals.

The independent panel weren’t ruling on whether Manchester City make good decisions in the transfer market or on the quality of their scouting department. They found that they bought those players, and very possibly paid the wages of their sporting directors and scouts, through money that the club hadn’t earned.

The Tottenham bombshell

But King rather buries the lead with that opening nonsense, as he then displays a quite astonishing lack of understanding of financial fair play rules.

“If anybody had said about financial irregularities, you’d have said, ‘well, what about Tottenham?’.”

Here comes the bombshell.

“They’re in massive debt with the new stadium. What gives them the right to be able to bring in players and spend £400m when they haven’t even paid off the stadium yet?

“There are so many hypocrites in the game at the moment. Nobody’s interested in losers anymore. They’re interested in winners.”

Love the last line. Tottenham are indeed losers. But Bryan, Tottenham can spend big precisely because of their brand spanking new stadium and the revenue it brings in through match day ticket sales, concerts and other sporting events.

So as much as we love to kick a dog while it’s down, one criticism we can’t aim at the dishevelled, starving mutt that is Tottenham Hotspur, their finances – as far as we know – are beyond reproach.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham have all written to Manchester City to reserve the right for potential damages and journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed how much money each club could receive in compensation.

The Premier League has now confirmed that an independent panel has found City guilty on all charges related to breaches of their financial regulations over a nine-year period.

It was found that City had arranged “sham” contracts with commercial partners to inflate revenues and reduce costs to the tune of over £900m.

City maintain their innocence and are expected to appeal the ruling, and we’re yet to learn the punishment for one of the greatest sporting scandals in history.

READ: Manchester City cheating was ‘disgusting’ and they ‘shouldn’t see a single penny’ of Haaland sale

But beyond the initial punishment from the Premier League, City also face the reality of having to pay their Premier League rivals compensation over their loss of earnings in the period in which they have been found to have cheated on an astronomical scale.

And Jacobs believes that four clubs known to have set the legal ball rolling – Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham – could seek damages of over £100m.

He told talkSPORT: “Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs have all pre-reserved their rights to sue Manchester City for damages, predominantly for seasons where they missed out on Champions League football or potentially silverware.

“Each could seek over £100million, but you have a wider issue for City if found guilty subject to appeal and that is collective action.

“There’s two routes. One is the clubs could pool together and start their own individual action for compensation, but for one lump payment distributed in different ways.

“Or the simpler legal solution is for the Premier League to take class action for damages and then choose how to distribute it.

“You could say clubs that went down might want compensation. You could say at a very base level, clubs that feel Manchester City should be removed from the league in those seasons bump themselves up a place and that’s a little bit extra prize money.

“You’ll have teams that missed out on European football and silverware. So this is a very complicated legal situation.

“Whereas the City case can hopefully resolve itself before the season is out, the damages if they’re found guilty subject to appeal could lead to years and years and years of legal cases.

“This is why certain clubs like the four I mentioned are already prepared.

“There’s even a chance European clubs look at the situation and they lost out to Manchester City in the Champions League in some of the seasons in question and they decide they’re entitled to something as well.”