Four Premier League clubs have met the six-year deadline to formally register for compensation if Manchester City is found guilty of serious charges among 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham all filed legal notices ahead of a potential statute of limitations last week, reports The Times.

The City case is still being heard by an independent regulatory commission, with the outcome not expected until early next year.

The commission can order City to pay compensation, but because of laws on time limits for filing such claims, the four clubs worried they could miss out if they wait for the case to be resolved.

The report states:

“The compensation notices were issued after the four clubs were advised by lawyers that there was a potential six-year statute of limitations dating back to November 5, 2018, when German website Der Spiegel first published the Football Leaks documents .

“Although the alleged breaches of City’s rules date back to 2009, the six-year Limitation Act 1980 period for legal claims for breach of contract in the UK allows an exception where that breach was concealed. This would allow the six-year period to begin when details of the alleged violations were made public.

If the allegations against City are proven, the clubs could claim lost revenue for missing out on the league title, Champions League qualification or other European competitions over several seasons, which could total hundreds of millions of pounds.

“Clubs cannot sue each other under Premier League rules, but can do so through arbitration under Rule X. Five clubs sought compensation when Everton were fined for breaching the Profitability and Sustainability Rules last season – Leeds United, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Southampton – but those claims have since been withdrawn or are unresolved.

“In the City case, lawyers are understood to have advised the clubs that if they waited until the outcome of the hearing into the alleged breaches of rule 115 then there was a risk that any claim for compensation would be deemed time-barred.”

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Chelsea are notable for their absence from the clubs seeking compensation, but they have their own Premier League investigation which could also lead to similar claims from clubs, which could be a factor in them not filing legal notices against City.

City are accused of failing to provide accurate financial information for nine separate seasons, with full details of the pay of Roberto Mancini and Yaya Toure among the points of contention.

They were also accused of failing to cooperate with the investigation and failing to hand over documents over five seasons from 2018-19 to 2022-23.