City are contesting Uefa's settlement offer of sanctions entailing a £49 million (€60m) fine, a cut in the size of their Champions League A squad next season to 21 and a freeze on that squad's wage bill. Thompson, who runs financialfairplay.co.uk, thinks the club only failed to comply because they were unable to write off up to £80m in wages earned by players signed before the FFP rules were announced in 2010. City have until the end of the week to reach agree- ment or the case will go to a non-negotiable decision by a panel next week.