Man City: Their Future in the Premier League

There’s no denying that Manchester City has become the team to beat for many years in the EPL. If they aren’t winning the league, they’re in the top two or three. Whenever you look at any Premier League betting & odds, the Cityzens are nearly always bookies’ favourites.

But how fair is it? It seems that they have been a little bit naughty with their finances, not necessarily playing by the book and this could now have some serious repercussions. There has even been talk of them being kicked out of the league, but how likely is this?

Calls from the Other Big 6 Teams

Let’s face it, the idea of Man City getting kicked out is going to be most attractive to their biggest rivals – the other ‘big 6’ teams. When you look at it, the idea of a fine is laughable. They have so much money at their disposal (which is the issue really), that it isn’t really a punishment. And taking away their titles retrospectively wouldn’t really have much of an effect.

So, it comes as no surprise that there are calls for them to be kicked out of the league completely if they are found guilty of breaking the financial rules for nine years, spanning between 2009/10 to 2017/18.

The most severe punishment that could be dished out to them would be expulsion from the league, which could even lead to no longer even being a part of the EFL. Those shouting the loudest for this are, unsurprisingly, Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham.

The Possible Penalties

So, what are the possible penalties they might expect to face:

Points deduction
Suspension from league matches
Suspension from sign ups
Expulsion from the league
Fine
Another punishment as seen fit

Unfortunately, sympathy won’t be overflowing for City, who have won the EPL six times in the past 11 seasons.

Building a Defence

Man City has allegedly employed Lord Pannick KC to come to their defence after the accusations of these financial breaches. He is no stranger to taking their corner, after having defended them in 2020 in their UEFA FFP appeal. This will also be very costly as he doesn’t come cheap. Apparently, he charges as much as £80,000 per day… as much as their highest-paid player, De Bruyne.

The Charges

Allegedly, Manchester City has breached a number of rules. They have failed to provide accurate financial information that “gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position”. According to the league, accurate financial information regarding the ‘revenue (including sponsorship), related parties and operating costs were not disclosed

But that’s not all, they’ve also broken the rule which requires the club to include full details of manager remuneration in regard to the contracts held between the 2009/10 season and 2012/13 seasons inclusive, with Roberto Mancini being the manager in question. It was under Mancini that they won the first Premier League title.

In addition, it is claimed that they didn’t fully disclose player remuneration between 2010/11 to 2015/16 inclusive.

They are also being accused of breaching the rules which required them to comply with UEFA’s financial fair play and regulations, between 2013/14 and 2017/18 inclusive.

In 2020, they also had a 2-year ban from European football overturned by the CAS after being suspended by UEFA’s CFCB for serious breaches of licensing and fair play rules. They have also been accused of breaching the profitability and sustainability rules between 2015 and 2018 and breaking rules that require them to cooperate with the investigations between 2018 to present day.

What the Future Could Be

If they are found guilty, repercussions could be huge. Along with the possibility of fines, suspensions or even expulsion, it is believed that Pep will walk. After having a total of 30 breaches of Premier League rules for assisting investigations, 25 breaches regarding profit and sustainability, 8 of manager remuneration and 50 breaches of the accuracy of financial information, this is massive.

What is their future? Who knows, although it’s hard to imagine the EPL without the Manchester giants, it’s possible. But only time will tell…