While Madrid have lifted two European Cups to City’s one in that time, the English club have won five domestic titles out of six, compared to three in five for the Spanish champions.
By now, Real Madrid and Manchester City have met so often in the Champions League that Florentino Perez and Khaldoon Al Mubarak have a distinctive relationship.
On Thursday, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters wrote to the 20 clubs confirming that City had made a new arbitration request seeking that the November amendments to Associated Party Transaction rules are declared “unlawful and void”.
The changes – voted through by a majority of 16-4 – came after a previous legal action by City, at the same time the entire football world awaits the outcome of the Premier League hearing concerning alleged breaches of financial regulations.
Even senior executives who are critical of City have sympathy with them on the point of interest-free loans in the APT rules and admit the Premier League could previously have just waited for the outcome of open arbitration to implement the amendments.
