With the exception of 2019/20, when Liverpool took the throne for a year, Manchester City have won the Premier League title every season since 2017/18 under Pep Guardiola’s guidance. Even before the ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach took the reigns, they won it twice, in 2011/12 under Roberto Mancini, and in 2013/14 when Manuel Pellegrini sat in the dugout.
However, the apparently unbeatable City are currently being charged over numerous breaches of Premier League’s financial rules. Since the original story of 115 broke out, the number has reportedly risen to 130. The hearing is set to start in September and last 10 weeks, and the verdict is expected to be made known early in 2025.
However, City obviously have no intention of going down without a fight. They have categorically denied any wrongdoing in these matters, and they’re said to be preparing a strong defence. They’ve hired the services of Lord Pannick KC, one of Britain’s most renowned advocates. They’ve also started legal proceedings against the Premier League in turn, claiming the rules they’re being accused of breaking are unfair, and even unlawful. Further more, Guardiola himself has said on numerous occasions he trusts the club completely and believes in their innocence, and even took some mild shots at other clubs for spending much money on transfers.
“It’s already many years they have done it”, the Catalan tactician said. “But it is not news. It is only when Man City spend money.”
The investigations into City’s potential rule-breaking began after German magazine Der Spiegel got hold of some incriminating emails and made them public in 2016. The Manchester Blues were already punished by UEFA through a two-year expulsion from Europe, but they fought back and won the case on mere technicality – the offences which prompted UEFA to act were time-barred by then, as the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) said at the time.
The Premier League is currently building cases against Leicester City and Everton over possible breaches of Profitability and Sustainability Rules, as well as against Chelsea for payments made back in the era of Roman Abramovich’s ownership of the club.
But there can be no doubt about the case against ;Manchester City taking the central stage at the moment. One thing is certain – whatever the verdict, it will have huge ramifications on the Premier League.
Should City’s guilt be proven regarding the most serious of the 130 alleged offences, according to Martyn Ziegler of The Times, the obvious sanction would be relegation from the English top flight. If that happens, further questions are widely expected to surface regarding their league titles in the investigated period, between 2009 and 2018. They may well be stripped of those, and many will anxiously await news on what happens with everything City have done after 2018.
But should City prove their innocence and win the case, the foundations of Premier League’s financial rules will be broken, leaving the league’s position thoroughly weakened when it comes to forcing clubs to obey those rules. In that case, it will be hard to imagine the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle, probably Manchester United too, controlling their spending in order to adhere to the regulations of the league which has no efficient means of enforcing them. The Premier League will have lost practically all authority over the clubs (especially the rich ones).
Nonetheless, the case being dealt with as soon as possible is obviously in the best interest of everyone involved. If they are innocent, as they claim, City will be eager to put these allegations to rest and revel in the glory they’ve reaped in recent years. If they are guilty and deserve relegation, the rest of the league will be eager to get it done.
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