Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp laughed off the prospect of his team being retrospectively awarded further titles after Manchester City were found guilty of 114 breaches of financial regulations.
The Premier League confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that, following an independent commission ruling, City had been guilty of all but one of the charges of financial breaches brought against the club.
Among the breaches were the creation of ‘sham’ contracts to help inflate revenue and reduce costs by more than £900m over nine years covering the 2009-10 season to the 2017-18 campaign.
City have until Friday, October 2, to appeal the decision, and will exercise their right to do so. They could eventually take the case as far as the High Court and claim the process was not impartial.
Several severe punishments could be on the cards if City’s appeal fails. A points deduction that dooms them to relegation to the Championship appears a likely penalty, with a massive fine and restrictions on signing players also distinct possibilities.
The prospect of expulsion from the Premier League has also been raised. That could see City condemned to non-league if the EFL refuses to accept them as members, but 15 of the 20 top-flight teams would need to vote in favour of an expulsion motion for it to become a reality.
There have also been calls for City to be retrospectively stripped of the titles they won during that nine-year period.
Klopp’s Liverpool finished second to Pep Guardiola’s City in 2018-19 and 2021-22. In the period in question, Liverpool lost the 2016 EFL Cup final to City on penalties.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of his country’s game with Serbia, Germany coach Klopp dismissed the idea of further honours coming his way, adding that he is satisfied with the successes he enjoyed during a storied tenure at Anfield.
“I’m far from preparing for a title or anything like that,” Klopp said.
“I’m absolutely fine with what we’ve achieved in Liverpool. We fought hard on the pitch. I can’t say more about that because I don’t know the details.”
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