Manchester City’s haters have got their pitch forks out demanding justice for their alleged 115 breaches of FFP, but how will the Treble winners feel about their potential sanctions?
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Everton and Nottingham Forest have been docked points for financial breaches this season, and Chelsea may soon join them in being punished for their above-threshold losses.
While this has been ongoing, onlookers of the Premier League eagerly await the verdict on Man City’s alleged wrongdoing as they face far more serious punishment if found guilty.
Last week, former Everton and Aston Villa CEO Keith Wyness poured fuel on the fire by claiming “expulsion” from the Premier League is now “on the table” for Man City “for the first time” after the reasoning behind Forest’s punishment was revealed.
So it is squeaky bum time at the Etihad. But that being said, Man City will be lawyered up beyond belief as, after investing literal billions to become a footballing superpower, they will now be spending a fortune in an attempt to protect their under-scrutiny image.
There is a lot at stake for Man City and of the five main punishments they could face, which will impact them the most? Below we’ve ranked them from least to most severe…
5) A fine
Man City‘s Sheikh Mansour may have been overtaken by PIF in the Premier League owner rich list, but he is certainly not short of a pound or two.
So while a multi-million-pound fine would be enough to send certain English clubs into turmoil, it would not even scratch the surface at Man City.
If you cast your mind back to the whole European Super League debacle, the ‘Big Six’ clubs involved were only made to pay a £22m settlement to the Premier League over their attempted breakaway.
This half-hearted slap on the wrist allowed Man City and co. to get away with murder and the Premier League have gone from one extreme to another with the sanctions handed out to Everton and Forest.
As the Premier League seemingly attempt to throw their weight around ahead of the imminent arrival of an independent regulator (which is long overdue), they may look to make an example of Man City as they have their Premier League rivals. But given the calibre of lawyers that will inevitably be at their disposal, a large fine would be the least severe punishment if their wrongdoing is proven and that’s largely why it is probably most likely.
4) Transfer ban
While Man City would not be seriously impacted behind the scenes if they are handed a huge fine, the same can be said on the pitch if they are given a transfer ban for their supposed misdemeanours.
Pep Guardiola has the best squad in the Premier League (and probably the world) so a measly transfer ban for a couple of windows is unlikely to derail their pursuit of even more glory.
And despite having Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne and Scott Carson (we cannot forget him) in the squad, their average age this season is 26.3 so the bulk of Guardiola’s team have their best years ahead of them.
A transfer ban would allow Liverpool, Arsenal and others the chance to overtake Man City more consistently, but a fair few steps need to be taken to properly remove the Treble winners from their perch and it would not necessarily shove them away from their persistent trophy-winning trajectory.
3) Points deduction
Now onto the tastier solutions. A points deduction – which would presumably range between 10 and 30 – would throw the spanner into the works as City pursue yet another Premier League title.
Going off of this season, a points deduction similar to Everton and Forest would likely halt their hunt for another Premier League title with Arsenal and Liverpool challenging to dethrone them.
It says a lot about Man City’s dominance that – based on last season’s points tally – a 30-point deduction would have left them in eighth place and in normal circumstances (finishing with over 90 points), even with this extreme penalty, they would qualify for the Europa League.
At this point, City playing in the Europa League is as baffling a concept as Manchester United winning the Premier League and, after finally overcoming their Champions League hoodoo, Guardiola would surely not be averse to adding the second-best European competition to his trophy cabinet.
2) Expulsion
Immediate expulsion to the Championship (or below) would be the dream scenario for most of Man City’s Premier League rivals and with them out of the picture, neutrals would be treated to an all-timer title race with Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and Aston Villa among the contenders chasing each other’s tails.
But for the elder, non-glory supporter contingent of the Man City fanbase, a nostalgia-filled stint in the Football League could even be welcomed for old-time’s sake.
The prospect of Man City doing a Rangers and climbing back up through the divisions would be a refreshing respite for onlookers of the Premier League who have grown tired of their relentless dominance.
While this could simply delay the inevitable as Man City prepare for another period at the top, Saudi-backed Newcastle United are already waiting in the shadows with FFP the only thing in the way of them rapidly establishing a new elite.
And an enforced relegation down a league or two would afford the Magpies an opportune chance to grasp City’s Premier League crown.
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1) Being stripped of Premier League titles
As inconvenient as some of these punishments would be, it would not take away Man City’s recent history with seven Premier League title wins and one Champions League triumph.
If their guilt ends up being proven, a rather large asterisk would suddenly hover like a dark cloud over Man City’s ongoing period of supremacy, but supporters would – even if it made themselves and rivals feel uneasy – still be able to cling to the fact that their trophy haul remains intact.
Yet, should Man City’s titles be snatched away, not only would rivals such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd gleefully accept their delayed crowning moments, this drastic action would undo the unbelievable work done by Guardiola and the less-famous decision-makers behind the scenes who have collectively transformed them into an elite force in the footballing world.
While their immaculate structure would remain in place, their recent history of success would be diminished as on paper, they would return to being a middling Premier League side who are striving to emerge from under the shadow of local (and superior) rivals Manchester United.
Yes, this would be unfair, but so was Everton and Forest being deducted points and with the gloves now appearing to be off at Premier League headquarters, no punishment can be ruled out. But saying that, the money men typically come out on top in these scenarios, so we better brace ourselves for the meltdown at Man City’s sanctioning being a simple fine.
