Manchester City’s fate in a legal battle with the Premier League is yet to be sealed, but reports that it has been found guilty of widespread financial misconduct have led to speculation about what comes next.
As the dominant Premier League force for more than a decade, City would face swingeing sanctions that would send shockwaves through English football.
Rival clubs are set to launch their own legal action seeking hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation, while there is debate over whether some of City’s many titles and trophies over the past 15 years could be stripped.
City, which has always denied any wrongdoing, has pledged to clear its name.
So what is the latest reaction to the case and what is likely to come next?
Sanctions and appeals process
The Athletic first reported on Friday that City had been found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges it faced.
However, no sanction has yet been approved.
Even once a decision is made on how City will be punished, should it be found guilty, the club is almost certain to appeal.
In a letter to fans on Saturday, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: “Our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began.”
A case that began after German outlet Der Spiegel published leaked documents from City executives in 2018 could still take a long time to fully resolve.
According to Premier League rules, the sanctions can vary from a points deduction to a fine or even expulsion from the division.
Everton and Nottingham Forest were handed points deductions in the 2023-24 season for single breaches of financial sustainability rules. On that basis, City would face almost certain relegation if found guilty of more than 100 charges.
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Whether the sanction is applied before an appeal is heard will be another bone of contention.
If it is, City could face relegation before overturning any guilty verdict.
On the other hand, if City, who currently sit top of the table, are not punished until after an appeal, it could cost other clubs their place in the top-flight or lucrative European qualification.
Even after the Premier League process is over, there is also the chance that City’s Abu Dhabi-backed owners will seek redress in England’s High Court if they challenge a legal issue regarding how the arbitration process was conducted.
How have others reacted?
City’s rivals were quick to revel in the news of the club’s potential demise.
“Another Premier League medal to be added to the cabinet,” posted former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who was part of the United team to finish second to City in the 2011-12 season.
The reality is that stripping and retroactively awarding titles is a messy process.
The charges against City relate to the period between 2009 and 2018. During that time, they won four league titles, with United and Liverpool twice finishing second in those seasons.
Yet City have won another four since, arguably built on foundations that were fraudulently gained.
They also won four League Cups and one FA Cup, the club’s first trophy in 35 years, between 2009 and 2018.
“I don’t seriously believe any other trophies and titles will be handed back over either,” Tony Pulis, whose side Stoke lost the 2011 FA Cup final to City, told the BBC.
“A points deduction and a massive fine feels far more likely. But I still feel cheated.”
Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino expressed sadness at City being found guilty of breaching financial rules, saying that if true, it would confirm “a period of deception” in the sport.
“Whatever punishment [they choose], it’s impossible to turn back time. It’s done a lot of damage,” Pochettino, now coach of the US men’s team, told reporters on Monday.
“At the end of the day, many clubs followed the rules, and some didn’t … What are they going to do? An economic punishment? Docking points? It’s really hard. It’s sad.”
La Liga president Javier Tebas said City should face the “most severe sanction” available if it has breached financial regulations.
The Spaniard, speaking at a football performance and health summit in London on Tuesday, said he had been raising concerns about City since 2017.
“To have been breaking the rules for more than 10 years, however minor the breaches may have been, is very serious,” he said.
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“So there has to be a severe punishment for breaking the rules, not just to set an example, but because the rules were broken.”
“What has happened is very important, and hopefully it will be a before-and-after moment, not just in the Premier League but in European football as well, because the Manchester effect was an effect across all of Europe,” Tebas added.
City CEO hopeful
Addressing the European Football Clubs board on Monday, Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano said the club would do everything to clear its name.
The procedure would take years before reaching a conclusion, a source familiar with the discussions told the Reuters news agency.
Soriano, who sits on EFC’s board, also declined to comment to reporters on City being found guilty of 114 of 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules, according to media reports confirmed to Reuters by a source familiar with the situation.
What about City’s players?
Less than a month ago, City completed the biggest-ever transfer spend in one window, splashing out about 460 million pounds ($347m) on the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Elliott Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi.
The impending verdict on the charges has, to this point, made little impact on City’s ability to attract and retain its top names.
Talismanic striker Erling Haaland signed a nine-year contract in 2025 that could keep him tied down till his 34th birthday.
How many, if any, of the players managed to negotiate exit clauses if City were heavily sanctioned remains to be seen.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: aljazeera.com
