Man City are still box office for Premier League despite unresolved charges

Last year, the Premier League showed its teeth to throw unprecedented allegations at Manchester City... and then slipped into the shadows as its blockbuster competition was settled.

Richard Masters will have had reason to thank the Blues for taking the spotlight off him on the day they lifted the Premier League trophy, the club picking Alex Williams to hand the trophy over to Ilkay Gundogan and the players to avoid any unnecessary drama. While it looked like business as usual, it was still surreal for the chief executive of an organisation that had levelled such serious charges of cheating against one of their premium clubs to be personally passing on congratulations for more success in the meantime.

A year on, a repeat looks likely. With no hearing for the charges until later this year, if City are able to beat Fulham and Spurs then the trophy will be at the Etihad on the final day of the season waiting for a positive result against West Ham.

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And while the Premier League cross every possible body part that everything goes their way at the tribunal, this month they can be relaxed and happy at what City continue to do for their brand on the pitch. Regardless of who wins the title this year, it has been another outstanding year.

This season threatened to stray from recent narratives, with Aston Villa in particular and also Tottenham beating the biggest boys to increase the feeling that any team can beat any other. Then the quality of Liverpool, Arsenal and City shone through to give a high-quality three-horse race that looks like it will go all the way to a photo finish with two.

No other league is still waiting to crown their champions, with PSG (nine points ahead of second), Inter Milan (18 points), Real Madrid (13 points) and Bayer Leverkusen (15 points) all streets clear of their nearest rivals. If it is drama football fans are looking for, there is only one place to be for the final weeks of the domestic calendar; last weekend saw Spurs nearly manage an improbable comeback against Arsenal before Nottingham Forest rattled City.

Then there are the star names. City boast the FWA Footballer of the Year in Phil Foden and also the biggest brand in the entire Premier League in Erling Haaland - people tune in every week to see the Norwegian because of his explosive potential, as he showed in scoring four against Wolves.

While the foundations of their success remain in question, City have undoubtedly become one of the biggest assets the Premier League have for the appeal they provide to individual games and the competition as a whole. It is not a coincidence that five of the six most-viewed games in the previous four seasons have featured the Blues, nor that their home match with Arsenal at the end of March set a new league record for US viewership.

For every person turned off by watching City play, millions more are tuning in and that is why the Premier League will continue to celebrate one of their biggest brands despite the unresolved charges.