Manchester City have been found to have breached Premier League financial rules over nine years, according to reports from The Mirror, but the club has appealed and hired Mark Howard KC, one of the UK's top barristers.

Manchester City were found to have breached 114 Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018. The club was charged in February 2023, followed by a 42-day hearing the following year. The result of that hearing was only confirmed last month, after which Manchester City appealed. The club continues to deny the allegations, stating it possesses "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence" to prove its innocence.

There is currently no timetable for how long the appeal process will take, and Manchester City is fully engaged in addressing it. According to The Lawyer magazine, Howard is now advising Manchester City. But who is he? And why have Manchester City hired him? In legal circles, Howard is known as a "super silk"—a term for King's Counsel (KC).

He is also co-head of Brick Court Chambers, located in central London. His official website describes him as having "extensive experience in commercial and 'City' litigation, covering banking, professional negligence, fraud, energy, insurance and reinsurance."

One review states: "His name strikes fear into the hearts of opponents." Howard's past clients include former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (2008) and musician Elton John (2002). He became a barrister in 1980 and was appointed KC 16 years later.

In an interview with The Times last year, Howard stated that his favourite part of the job is "cross-examining witnesses and undermining their testimony." In 2023, Howard received a record £9 million in appearance fees representing the Federal Republic of Nigeria against Process & Industrial Developments. This remains the highest recorded appearance fee, which is the remuneration barristers receive for pre-trial preparation and the first day of court appearance.

Howard helped Nigeria successfully avoid paying $11 billion in compensation. Another recent success for Howard was representing AerCap, the world's largest commercial aircraft leasing company, in 2025. The case centred on an insurance dispute involving aircraft stranded in Russia since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The High Court ruled that the insurers responsible for covering war risks should compensate AerCap more than $1 billion. This compensation amount is also one of the largest awarded by a British court in an insurance dispute.

Manchester City hopes Howard's expertise can help them in their battle against the Premier League. Since the charges were brought, Howard is not the only KC the club has hired. Leading Manchester City's legal team is David Pannick, known for representing wealthy and powerful individuals. Pannick's past clients include Queen Elizabeth II, Boris Johnson, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Joining Pannick is Paul Harris, who successfully led the team's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after UEFA attempted to ban Manchester City from the Champions League in 2020. Finally, Philip Marshall, an expert in complex commercial disputes and commercial fraud, is also involved.

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