25 November 2023 , 20:30
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The former agent of Yaya Toure has NOT been contacted by the independent commission investigating the Premier League's 115 charges against Manchester City.
One of the most serious allegations levelled against the reigning champions is that they failed to provide full details of payments made to players between 2010 and 2016.
And German publication Der Spiegel claims to have a paper trail that proves how City's owners directly financed image rights payments totalling £7.4million to Toure during his time at the Etihad. Such financial obligations should have been met by City and not Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group.
It is understood that Der Spiegel's allegations of impropriety at the club - based on millions of illegally accessed documents provided by Portuguese computer hacker Rui Pinto - are central to the Premier League's contention that City failed to meet their Profit and Sustainability Rules over a nine-year period.
But Dimitri Seluk, the outspoken agent who guided Toure on his journey to become one of the world's most famous players, has revealed that he has not yet been asked to provide evidence about the matter.
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Seluk insists that no rules were broken throughout his dealings with City, which were often less than harmonious. He said: "I haven't been contacted by the Premier League or anyone else dealing with these issues about Manchester City.
"Can I remember every single detail? Not 100 per cent because we are talking about negotiations that took place almost 15 years ago, not in the last three months.
"But I know what has been said about Yaya's contract with City - and what I can tell you is that absolutely everything was done very cleanly, very honestly and with full transparency. Nothing was done under the table. If they want to speak to me, then they must contact my lawyer. But there is nothing to find because nothing is there."
Seluk brokered Toure's £24million move to City from Barcelona in 2010 as well as several contracts for the Ivorian. Pressure is growing for the Premier League's case against City to be judged by the commission following a decision to dock Everton 10 points for failing to meet PSR. It has been mooted that City could be relegated if they are found guilty.
Yaya Toure's former agent Dimitri Seluk (Internet Unknown)But the sheer scale of the charges levelled against last season's Treble winners in February - and the club's steadfast stance that they are innocent - means the legal process is likely to drag on for years.
The Football Leaks documents published by Der Spiegel underpinned a UEFA case against City in 2020 which led to the club being banned from the Champions League for two years and fined £27million for alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play Regulations.
The ban was overturned on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with the fine reduced to £9million over City's refusal to cooperate with a UEFA investigation they felt was unjust.
City claimed throughout the process that the stolen emails had been taken "out of context" and that the "attempt to damage the club's reputation is organised and clear."
Critics of the club felt City had escaped a more severe censure because CAS ruled that a number of UEFA's charges were time-barred. But Etihad chiefs were adamant that they would have been cleared had those allegations also been heard.
The Premier League's decision to lay charges has been met with an equally robust denial, with City insisting they have "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence" and that they "look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all."
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