Newcastle United and Manchester City are weighing up the idea of taking legal action after new Premier League rules were passed to restrict related-party sponsorship.
The two sides were the only clubs to vote against a new requirement for all new commercial deals to be submitted to the Premier League Board for their approval, a rule that will be in place as a response to Newcastle's Saudi-funded takeover back in October.
Co-owner Amanda Staveley had warned rival clubs by letter that plans to stop big sponsorship deals with companies related to club owners was anti-competitive.
One way for Newcastle, 80 per-cent owned by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, to get rich quick, is for the Gulf state to pump cash into the club via big sponsorship deals with other companies they control.
The richest Saudi company is Saudi Aramco who own the second largest crude oil reserves.
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Their Vision 2030 and Neom projects could be promoted globally using Newcastle United.
But the prospect of hundreds of millions being diverted to Newcastle though those deals has receded, and will limit their ability to spend big and grow quickly.
Newcastle could challenge in court any deals which the Premier League process rules as too lucrative.
Deals such as stadium naming rights or shirt sponsorships involving Eddie Howe's side will have to see the club pocket a similar amount to clubs of a similar stature, something the Newcastle hierarchy argue leaves no room to grow and is actually anti-competitive.
Clubs cannot make losses exceeding £105million over a rolling three-year period.
Top flight will also have to declare any payments to players, managers and their officials from companies associated with the ownership to assess if they are for legitimate work rather than a means of offloading some of their main salary.
Roberto Mancini faced claims from Football Leaks that he had two contracts as coach of Man City - one with City and another with a club in Abu Dhabi.
Saudi’s Public Investment Fund bought an 80% stake in Newcastle ending Mike Ashley’s 14 years of ownership.
While Newcastle and Man City are bound by their stance on the new rules, their form on the pitch is in drastic contrast to one another.
City are still on a high after Tuesday night's 7-0 demolition of Leeds United at the Etihad to put them four points clear at the top of the table.
Newcastle, meanwhile, are second bottom and fighting relegation with just one win this season, and face Liverpool, Man City and Manchester United next.
The Magpies last league outing came away at Leicester City, where they were on the end of a 4-0 drubbing at the King Power Stadium.
