PREMIER LEAGUE champions Manchester City could be EXPELLED from top-flight English football after their breach of 115 financial rules allegations.
Other possible punishments include a points deduction for the reigning champions, transfer bans, spending limits and even the stripping of previous titles.
The investigation into the club’s dealings has lasted for four years.
And now the Premier League have published their findings on their website – and it does not make good reading for the Etihad club, although at this stage they have been charged but not found guilty.
Furthermore, reports suggest that the charges could be detrimental to their hopes of signing Jude Bellingham this summer.
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City in Bellingham blow
Real Madrid also believe the charges brought against Manchester City will help them in their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund superstar Jude Bellingham this summer.
Bellingham has also been linked with City as well as Liverpool.
According to Mundo Deportivo, however, Real believe it would be difficult for the Citizens to sign the midfielder if they are found guilty of breaching financial regulations.
The Reds, meanwhile, are enduring a nightmare campaign on the pitch and risk missing out on Champions League football.
That could leave Los Blancos in pole position to sign the England international
Credit: Getty Erling Haaland interest
Real Madrid could reignite their interest in Erling Haaland if Manchester City are found guilty of breaching financial rules.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Real could come back in for Haaland if City are found guilty and handed a hefty punishment.
Los Blancos were interested in the star striker before he joined the Citizens last summer.
The reigning Spanish champions are “very attentive” to the situation unfolding
More from Neville
Manchester United legend Gary Neville also revealed the need for “control” when it comes to football ownership.
Neville said on The Overlap Live Fan Debate: “When I speak to Premier League owners, what they are really concerned about is, they aren’t up against local businessmen anymore.
“They are up against owners who have trillions of pounds where money is not an object. There does need to be some level of control.
“Whether Manchester City are guilty or not, that will work itself out in the next six months, or however long it takes”
Neville has ‘sympathy’ for City
Manchester United great Gary Neville has revealed he has “sympathy” for rivals Manchester City.
Neville said on The Overlap Live Fan Debate: “On the financial side, I do have some sympathy for Manchester City.
“If you look at what Jack Walker did in 1992, 1993, 1994, that was financial doping but it was deemed to be something completely different because he was a local businessman who pumped money into his club.
“I’m not a fan of the Financial Fair Play Regulations. It means you’ll always have the same clubs at the very top, because their revenues are higher and you’ll always have the lower clubs lower down, because they can’t compete with the revenue.
“We do need sustainability and cost controls in football, and this is one of the biggest decisions in the next 12 to 18 months”
Long legal battle ahead
Stefan Borson, chief executive and general counsel of Watchstone Group plc, also doubted the case would be speedily addressed.
Borson told The Times: “These allegations appear to be about as serious as they get for a company and its board of directors.
“The seriousness of these allegations is likely to mean it will be a long time before the disciplinary process can be completed — I would not be at all surprised if it took in excess of two years”
Credit: Getty The long haul
The Premier League’s case against Manchester City could take as many as four years to resolve.
Respected sports lawyer Nick De Marco KC said it could take quite a while to play out.
De Marco, who has represented Mike Ashley at Newcastle and been involved in Derby and Sheffield Wednesday’s financial fair play cases, believes the whole situation could drag out until 2027.
He tolf The Times: “I worked on the Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday financial fair play cases, both of which involved two charges over about two years and took about a year and a half from charges to the end.
“I would not be surprised if these proceedings took considerably longer given there are apparently 115 charges covering a period of 14 years”
Man City leaks
Manchester City’s drawn-out battle with Euro chiefs was sparked by the “Football Leaks” cache of documents and emails revealed by German magazine Der Spiegel.
While City angrily and consistently denounced the “illegal hacking and out of context publication” of those emails, they gave insight into the club’s approach.
In one email, relating to the first Uefa FFP probe of the club in 2014 – which resulted in a £49million fine – senior City lawyer Simon Cliff revealed chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak had threatened then-Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino of the club’s stance.
It read: “Khaldoon said he would rather spend £30m on the 50 best lawyers in the world to sue them for the next 10 years”
Going to war
Manchester City will throw everything they have to beat the Premier League and destroy the financial charges that threaten their top-flight existence.
City chiefs are determined to ensure victory in what has become a fight for survival with Prem bosses after they were charged with 115 financial breaches.
SunSport revealed that Premier League rivals want the Citizens booted out of the top flight if the charges are proved.
But that means the reigning champs will fight the process all the way, which could even mean going to the High Court or even the supreme Court – the highest legal platform in England – if required.
And just as in their victory over UEFA after the Champions League ban three years ago, City will unleash an army of lawyers to defeat the Prem’S legal team
Manchester City’s lawyer
Manchester City have hired one of Boris Johnson’s “partygate” lawyers to help defend the club against charges from the Premier League.
According to The Lawyer, City are now drafting in the biggest names from the legal professional to help defend their case.
Respected lawyer Lord Pannick KC has been hired by the Citizens as they look to clear their name.
He has previously advised former Prime Minister Johnson over allegations that he partied in Downing Street during lockdown.
Lord Pannick is widely believed to be one of the best barristers of his generation and is now set to be involved in what will likely be a major legal battle.
It is also likely to be costly as Lord Pannick could reportedly be paid £80,000 a day, or £400,000 a week, should the case come to trial and he was to be working full-time.
This wage would equal what Kevin De Bruyne is paid by the club
Credit: Rex
Pep Guardiola to quit?
Manchester City expect boss Pep Guardiola will leave the club before they are punished for over 100 financial rule breaches.
Guardiola stated in May that if he had been lied to about the club’s financial dealings then he would “be out”.
According to The Athletic, there is already a growing expectation that the Spanish tactician will not remain in charge by the time any potential sanctions are imposed
The ex-Barcelona boss is said to have been one of the first to be told of the news before it was made public
Players fear for future
As Manchester City have turned to Lord Pannick KC to get them off the hook from the Premier League charges, many of their star players are in a flap about their futures.
City manager Pep Guardiola faces a tough task to get their minds back on a huge few weeks in their season when they reassemble later this week.
On Monday, they heard the news from the Premier League but there was no mention of it when chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and other execs visited the away dressing room at Tottenham some 15 hours earlier.
But before the players hit the training pitches, chief executive Ferran Soriano addressed the squad in the first-team building at the City Football Academy.
Just as he did when UEFA banned the club from the Champions League almost three years ago, Soriano insisted they have done nothing wrong and will clear their name.
Yet after training — when the players headed for home — the enormity of the situation started to dawn on them and it is going to feel uneasy for some time
Coming to blows
Manchester City will tomorrow walk into a room full of the Premier League clubs who want them booted out of the English top flight.
A two-day series of meetings of the 20 clubs and Prem board is due to begin at lunchtime in a central London hotel.
And it means City representatives will sit down around the conference table with clubs pushing for the ultimate punishment if the 115 alleged breaches of league rules are proved.
Chief executive Ferran Soriano is City’s usual frontman at Prem meetings, although it is unclear if he will attend tomorrow morning.
But whoever is sent on behalf of the Citizens will be certain of a frosty reception with rival clubs determined to demand the harshest of sanctions including relegation from the top flight if the final outcome goes against the champions
Man City charges recap
Manchester City may be expelled from the Premier League after they were charged with more than 100 alleged breaches of financial rules.
Other possible punishments for City include a points deduction, relegation, transfer bans, spending limits and even the stripping of previous titles.
The investigation into the Citizens’ dealings has lasted for four years and now the Premier League have published their findings on their website with the club admitting they were “surprised” in a brief and defiant statement.
At this stage, City have been charged but not found guilty but they would not be able to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if the ruling does go against them.
The charges relate to breaching financial regulations over nine seasons between 2009 and 2018 – plus further charges of failing to cooperate and hand over documents as required over the last five seasons from 2018-2019 to 2022-2023
Credit: PA More from Neville
Gary Neville also revealed the need for “control” when it comes to football ownership.
He said on The Overlap Live Fan Debate: “When I speak to Premier League owners, what they are really concerned about is, they aren’t up against local businessmen anymore.
“They are up against owners who have trillions of pounds where money is not an object.
“There does need to be some level of control.
“Whether Manchester City are guilty or not, that will work itself out in the next six months, or however long it takes.”
In case you missed it…
Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed Manchester City should be docked points if found guilty of breaching financial rules.
The former Prem striker declared City should start next season on “minus points” if deemed to be guilty.
He told talkSPORT: “When I first heard it I was a bit shocked. I thought surely clubs would be more clever with what they’re doing, you can’t get away with anything now in football.
“The Premier League would have been on Man City, doing their research on what they’ve done. Now they could end up starting next season with 14, 15 points deduction.
“You’ve seen this season it’s happened with Juventus in Serie A. They lost points, now they probably won’t qualify for the Champions League.
“I don’t want to see a £50m fine, I don’t want to see that because they’ll pay that out of their wallet.
“I want to see points deductions and if it takes a few months to go through, then the start of next season they start on minus.”
Neville has ‘sympathy’ for City
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has revealed he has “sympathy” for rivals Manchester City.
On Monday, the Premier League charged the Etihad outfit with 115 financial breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018.
And Neville said on The Overlap Live Fan Debate: “On the financial side, I do have some sympathy for Manchester City.
“If you look at what Jack Walker did in 1992, 1993, 1994, that was financial doping but it was deemed to be something completely different because he was a local businessman who pumped money into his club.
“I’m not a fan of the Financial Fair Play Regulations. It means you’ll always have the same clubs at the very top, because their revenues are higher and you’ll always have the lower clubs lower down, because they can’t compete with the revenue.
“We do need sustainability and cost controls in football, and this is one of the biggest decisions in the next 12 to 18 months.”
In other news…
Away from the Premier League’s charges against Manchester City, Riyad Mahrez has been nominated for PFA Player of the Month for January.
Mahrez netted three goals and provided two assists in just five Prem games last month.
Nick Pope, Dan Burn, Bukayo Saka, Solly March and Marcus Rashford are the other nominees.
In case you missed it…
Vincent Kompany said he is “sceptical” of people “pointing fingers” at Manchester City following the charges by the Premier League.
Burnley boss Kompany won four Prem titles with City and was at the club from 2008-2019.
And he said: “I look at it and sometimes roll my eyes a little bit.
“No doubt there’s a lot of righteousness in the world to come and tell you what you’ve done wrong, and then if everybody looks at themselves, I think the football industry in general is not one that can afford to point the finger too many times.”
“I think all of you will have a little bit of a smile on your face to know what the football industry is about.
“I’m very sceptical when people start pointing fingers.
“Do the best for yourself and let’s try and improve all the time but I’m a little bit sceptical when the fingers get pointed easily.”
City in Bellingham blow
Real Madrid also reportedly believe the charges brought against Manchester City will help them in their pursuit of Jude Bellingham.
The Spaniards are keen on signing the Borussia Dortmund sensation this summer.
Bellingham has also been linked with City and Liverpool.
But, according to Mundo Deportivo, Madrid believe it would be difficult for City to sign Bellingham if they are found guilty of breaching financial regulations.
Liverpool meanwhile are enduring a nightmare campaign on the pitch and risk missing out on Champions League football.
That could leave Los Blancos in pole position to sign the former Birmingham City man.
Erl for it
Real Madrid could reportedly reignite their interest in Erling Haaland if Manchester City are found guilty of breaching financial rules.
The Etihad outfit were charged by the Premier League on Monday.
And, according to Mundo Deportivo, Real Madrid could come back in for Haaland if City are found guilty and handed a hefty punishment.
The Spaniards were interested in Haaland before he joined City last summer.
It’s said they are “very attentive” to the situation unfolding.
The La Liga outfit believe there are no guarantees that Haaland stays at City if the club are found guilty and strongly punished.
Hamann on Haaland
Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann has claimed Erling Haaland doesn’t improve Manchester City long-term.
That’s despite the striker scoring 25 goals in 20 Premier League games.
Hamann told talkSPORT: “Haaland’s strength is the opposite of what City’s strength is.
“City were successful because they retained the ball, they had rhythm, they had fluidity in their game and they shared goals.
“Now you’ve got a player who a lot of the time in their matches hardly takes part, it’s almost like playing with ten men.
“I don’t care how many goals he scores or how many hat-tricks he scores, you need to see how many goals the team scores. I think they’ve scored less goals at the same stage of last season and have got less points.
“I don’t think that Haaland is a player that fits into the team because he’s everything the team isn’t.”
He added: “I don’t think long-term he will improve City’s team and that’s their biggest problem.”
Pep throwback
Pep Guardiola previously claimed he would quit Man City if the club lied to him regarding rule breaches.
He said back in August: “I said to our people, ‘Tell me’ about the suspicions. I looked at them and believed them 100 per cent from day one so I defended the club because of that.
“I did say, ‘If you lie to me, the day after I am not here. I will be out and you will not be my friend any more’.
“I like to represent a club that is doing things properly. In the end it’s not about winning the Champions League or Premier League, it’s about always doing it well, for our people and our fans.
“What CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] said meant a lot. It broke all the suspicion.”
“I can not forget that nine teams in the Premier League pushed to sack Manchester City from European competitions, I know who they are.”
Man City next five games
Manchester City may have been charged by the Premier League for breaching financial regulations, but the games keep coming for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Here’s a look at the next five outings for the Etihad outfit.
City tracking Arteta as replacement
Manchester City are reportedly keeping tabs on Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
That’s according to Four Four Two, who say Arteta could replace Pep Guardiola in the Etihad hot seat.
Last year The Athletic reported that City were keeping eyes on Arteta, who previously spent time as assitant to Guardiola.
Guardiola’s future at City is uncertain after the club were charged with breaching financial regulations.
He previously claimed he would quit his role over any financial rule-breaking.
PSG eye Pep swoop
French giants Paris Saint-Germain want Pep Guardiola as manager, according to reports.
Guardiola’s City future is uncertain after the Premier League charged the club with breaching financial regulations.
The Etihad boss has previously claimed he would quit the club in the event of financial rule-breaking.
And PSG are long-term admirers of Guardiola, according to Four Four Two.
While French newspaper L’Equipe claimed the club wanted Guardiola back when Mauricio Pochettino was in the PSG hot seat.
Current boss Christophe Galtier was only appointed last summer, but Les Parisiens appear to be huge fans of Guardiola.
Credit: PA
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
