The doors to Court 73 stand at the end of a short, sparsely furnished corridor. A wooden bench stretches down one wall, signs remind visitors to keep a social distance. Staff need not have worried.
It is mid-morning after the night before — English football is still nursing sore heads and hoarse voices after a 2-0 victory over Germany at Wembley.
This corridor is deserted, even as the country's leading club prepares to flex its muscles and clear its throat. Indeed, there is nothing to indicate the bitter fight bubbling behind those double doors. And that is exactly how the two sides want it to remain.
This corner of the Royal Courts of Justice lies beyond a layer of security and a warren of darkened passageways. Round blind corners, up flights of stairs, down more identi-corridors. Until you reach East Block. Even then, Court 73 remains shut. No access to the public or press, it warns. No fanfare either.
It is an unremarkable, rather eerie setting for a battle involving two of this country's sporting behemoths.
Manchester City have been investigated over whether they broke the Premier League's financial fair plays rules over the past two years
The Mail on Sunday had exclusive access to City's appeal into the public release of a judge's findings in the investigation into the club
For years, only a few crumbs of detail emerged about the secret battle between Manchester City and the Premier League. Behind closed doors, the club are still being investigated for violating financial fair play rules more than two years after the league began their probe.
The investigation was launched in December 2018 on the back of 'Football Leaks' claims published by the German magazine, Der Spiegel, which alleged a swathe of irregularities by City. They included disguising direct investment by owner Sheik Mansour as sponsorship income.
The club always insisted that the material was taken 'out of context' and were 'purportedly hacked or stolen', adding that 'the attempt to damage the club's reputation is organised and clear'.
They nevertheless refused to hand over certain documents, prompting the Premier League to begin arbitration in an attempt to force their hand.
England's top-flight have been investigating Sheikh Mansour's City since a major leak in 2018
City have been fighting the courts over whether the public should know the judge's findings
Since then, in the secrecy of Britain's High Court, City have been fighting that process, too. They disputed whether the arbitrators had jurisdiction to hear the Premier League's claim. They even suggested 'apparent bias', claiming they would be denied a fair hearing because the arbitrators lacked impartiality.
They lost but, by late June, the two sides shared common ground: both wanted to keep more information from prying eyes and ears. They had largely succeeded until March, when the judge who dismissed City's case ruled that the public ought to know her findings. Details of the arbitration dispute had hitherto remained hidden.
That is why City ended up here on the Strand, pleading with Britain's top legal brains to change tack.
