Manchester City reportedly received a settlement payment of £1m from Liverpool in September 2013 after the former complained that their scouting system had been hacked into.
The event occurred a year after three City scouts moved to Liverpool, with two members - alongside Michael Edwards, who is now Liverpool's sporting director - accused of accessing City's database on the Scout7 system on numerous occasions.
City, in response, are said to have employed computer-espionage experts to determine whether the system had been compromised.
According to The Times, the settlement was agreed without Liverpool or the accused individuals accepting any liability or wrongdoing in response to the claims.
Moreover, the allegations and the information on which this case was based never came under scrutiny in a court of law.
The issue of espionage in football came under the spotlight last season when Leeds United were accused of foul play for sending a scout to watch Derby County's training sessions ahead of the two sides meeting in the Championship.
Leo Nieboer
