Manchester City has been found ‘cheating on an industrial scale.’ What comes next?

Manchester City have been found guilty of systematically breaching Premier League financial rules from 2009 to 2018. Kieran Maguire, football finance expert and co-host of The Price of Football podcast, breaks down the charges with World Sport's Amanda Davies

Manchester City have been found guilty of systematically breaching Premier League financial rules from 2009 to 2018. Kieran Maguire, football finance expert and co-host of The Price of Football podcast, breaks down the charges with World Sport's Amanda Davies

English Premier League finds Manchester City guilty of financial breaches 5:53 Soccer See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link Threads Link Copied! Follow It’s one of the most extraordinary and monumental moments in the history of the Premier League – a story that has threatened and continues to endanger the very integrity of soccer in England.

Manchester City, one of the most successful teams in the world in recent years, has been found guilty of systematically cheating – financially doping its way to dominance for the best part of a decade.

Ever since this issue sprung into public consciousness in 2018 through a series of leaked emails, this saga has rumbled on in the background. But now, the lid has been blown off, and the outcome could be devastating for the club.

On Tuesday, the Premier League – the domestic competition in which City plays – finally broke its silence with a blistering statement that revealed the outcome of an independent commission.

It said the club was guilty of seriously breaching the league’s financial rules “well over 100 individual” times between 2009 and 2018 through a series of “sham” contracts and commercial agreements that helped conceal “the true state of its finances” by disguising what was essentially secret funding from its UAE ownership.

The league also said the club overstated its income by roughly $1.18 billion (£900 million) and understated its expenses by tens of millions, while also trying to cover up its efforts during the investigation.

Manchester City, though, says it has “irrefutable evidence” that proves its innocence and will appeal the verdict.

The club’s primary sponsor Etihad Airways – after which the team’s stadium is named – has also defended City and its relationship, threatening legal action against the Premier League.

Despite not being named in the report, some of which is redacted, Etihad Airways told CNN Sports that the lack of “clarity and transparency, together with the selective disclosure of information, has created damaging implications for Etihad.”

It added: “Etihad will seek the relevant legal counsel on the options and recourse available to protect its interests.”

So, should City’s appeal be unsuccessful and the club is eventually nailed to rights, just how devastating could the punishment be and what will that mean on and off the pitch?

To understand the severity of this matter, it’s important to understand the context around the club.

In 2008, Manchester City was bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan through the Abu Dhabi United Group.

What is going to happen to Manchester City following the Premier League’s scathing statement Tuesday? Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images Under the new regime, the club saw a total overhaul. Billions were spent on upgrading the team’s stadium, training complex and, more importantly, playing squad. Some of the world’s best soccer stars and managers suddenly started signing for a club that had been languishing in mediocrity for some time.

The result was City becoming one of the most potent forces in the sport, winning three Premier League titles, three League Cups and one FA Cup during the period covered by the charges.

The new era saw history made, creating some of the most iconic moments the league has ever seen and giving its fans memories that would last a lifetime.

That period also provided the foundations for where City currently sits within the top echelons of world soccer – having won the UEFA Champions League back in 2023 and winning four consecutive Premier Leagues from 2021 to 2024.

City fans will be hoping the club avoids some of the worst sanctions that are being discussed as possibilities by social media and pundits. Alex Livesey/Getty Images Now, though, the independent panel says it was all done illegally – a “sham,” as it said eight times in its redacted findings.

And it’s not as though this is the first time that City has faced allegations of financial misconduct. In 2020, the club was initially banned from European soccer for two seasons for “serious breaches” of financial regulations by continental governing body UEFA. The ban was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which also reduced the accompanying $34 million fine to $11.3 million, ruling that City had failed to cooperate with UEFA.

But the result of this latest case with the Premier League could seriously damage the club going forward.

According to the official league handbook, potential punishments could include a hefty points deduction, an unlimited fine, or even expulsion from the league entirely.

A case of this size has no precedent. Yes, clubs have fallen foul of slightly breaking Premier League rules in the past and have received points deductions as a result.

But as former England international and current pundit Ian Wright says, this is “cheating on an industrial scale.”

“It’s quite surreal seeing it written down like that,” he said on ITV. “I feel unprecedented punishment is required here.”

That punishment could be unlimited. That points deduction, for example, could be so big that it essentially relegates City into the Championship – the second tier of English soccer – or, as has been suggested by English media and pundits, spread out over multiple years to severely hamstring the club’s efforts to qualify for anything notable for the foreseeable future.

City’s triumphs after the period which covers the charges are tainted by the specter of what the independent commission called a “sham.” Michael Regan/Getty Images There has also been talk that the club should be stripped of all the titles and trophies it won during the period in question. And while that makes sense on the surface, it also opens up another can of worms.

If City has its three league titles taken away from it, what happens to the teams that finished second that year? If those runners-up are awarded the league title, do they then deserve the prize money that would have come with it?

Also, what happens to all the teams that dropped points to City during those nine years? City’s results would have contributed to teams being relegated from the top division, or missing out on lucrative Champions League places. Could there be a scenario where every club during that period seeks compensation through legal actions for lost earnings and revenue? That process would surely take years.

And while this is a logistical headache for people in suits and boardrooms, the length of this case continues to undermine what’s happening on the pitch.

Already, despite the upcoming appeal, that nine-year period of the league now comes with an asterisk. All those titles won, goals scored and memories made have been cast in shadow for the players and fans who lived them.

“(City) knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they still done it,” former Manchester United and Ireland star and current pundit Roy Keane told ITV. “If I was a player, I would 100% be sticking those medals in the bin. It’s cheating.”

It’s a similar sentiment felt by former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher who told Sky Sports that he’d be “furious” if he was a City player from that time.

“I actually feel for the Man City players. I mean, as a team, what they’ve done is wrong. The Premier League have called it a sham five times in this statement.

“In terms of individual players, some of them were coming out to bat for the club and, you know as they would, that’s normal right now, and it must be very difficult for them to see what’s going on right now.

All of this has also been incredibly damaging for the Premier League’s reputation.

Ultimately, the ideal situation for the league would have been City being found innocent because things could have returned back to normal relatively quickly – even if opposition fans would have objected. It’s telling, then, that the league’s statement is so strong. It suggests just how much cheating and blatant disregard for the rules it thinks has gone on behind closed doors.

The punishment to be handed down by the independent commission will be decided sometime in the future. Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto/Getty Images What happens next is unclear. City will appeal, we know that, and the Premier League is keen to close this matter as soon as possible and decide on a punishment fitting for the charges.

But the longer City digs its heels in, the more damaging this will get for everyone involved.

The club shows no signs of backing down, though, with CEO Ferran Soriano calling the case a “Premier League conspiracy theory” in an internal video sent to club staff after the verdict was announced.

Without knowing the outcome or City’s possible punishment – which the league has said will come at a later date by the independent commission – the pure essence of the Premier League is lost. If all of City’s results are to be scrapped this season, next season, or in four seasons to come, then whatever happens in the meantime is somewhat meaningless. The all-or-nothing nature of sports gets muddled with asterisks and different permutations.

It’s a sad state of affairs that could genuinely take weeks, months or even years to conclude, given City is showing no signs of backing down and can afford, ironically, the best legal team in the world.

Manchester City will next play on October 11 against Liverpool – one of the teams that missed out on winning a league title during the period of the charges.

Current City manager Enzo Maresca will have to try focus his plethora of star players – such as striker Erling Haaland – after what must have been a turbulent week for everyone involved at the club.

All of a sudden, their futures are very uncertain.

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