The outcome could be devastating for City
A Premier League executive has revealed the huge point deduction Man City could face if found guilty of their 115 charges.
According to The Athletic, there is a growing consensus among Premier League executives that Manchester City will find themselves relegated following a severe point deduction.
The club are charged with 115 different Financial Fair Play (FFP) charges with a 10-week hearing slated to begin next month.
Charged with financial impropriety across a nine year period from 2009, the club is starring down the barrel of a relegation-shaped gun with deduction and fines on the table.
Man City continue to vehemently deny any wrongdoing and are confident they will be able to resist the charges.
However, not everyone is so confident in The Citizens’ integrity, with one Premier League executive suggesting that with the way the league is thinking City are looking at a points deduction large enough to guarantee their relegation.
He said: “The collective view I’ve heard is that an appropriate sanction would have to be a points deduction so substantial, we are talking here between 70 and 80 points, that it guarantees City a season in the Championship.”
Alleged breaches include not providing full details of former manager Roberto Mancini’s pay over his four seasons at the club, as well as not providing full details of players’ remuneration, including that of Yaya Toure between 2010 to 2016.
The Premier League chief executive Richard Masters spoke in April, stating that a date had been set.
He said: “The case will resolve itself at some point in the near future.”
The Times reported this week that the hearing has been bought forward to mid-to-late September, having been initially scheduled for November.
It is due to last 10 weeks, so a verdicts will likely be delivered in early 2025.
Neither the Premier League nor Man City have responded to the reports.
Related links:
According to the Times, we’ll also get the outcome of a separate legal case involving Man City within the next fortnight.
This involved a case City brought against the Premier League’s associated party business transactions rules, which regulate sponsorship and revenue deals between clubs and businesses linked to their owners.
Because this is due to sooner than expected, it has allowed the hearing into the 115 charges to be bought forward, barring any further legal delays.
The Manchester side deny all the charges, which relate to breaches of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules, dating between 2009 and 2018.
Additionally, City have been accused of failing to cooperate with the investigation.
When the charges were first announced in February 2023, they said: “The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.
“As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”
