Manchester City's 'likely' punishment if they are found guilty of any of their 115 charges has been revealed by a former Premier League director.
City were accused of 115 rule breaches by the Premier League all the way back in February 2023.
The club strenuously deny all the charges, a minority of which also relate to UEFA.
A private 10-week hearing into the matter was held between September and December 2024, with an independent three-person commission appointed to hear and review evidence from both sides.
City manager Pep Guardiola stated in February of last year that he was expecting a verdict to be announced within the next month, though even that would have been subject to potential appeals and counter-appeals from those involved.
Pep Guardiola and Man City are still awaiting their 115 charges verdict (Image: Getty)
Pep Guardiola and Man City are still awaiting their 115 charges verdict (Image: Getty)
A year on, there is still no announcement on whether City have been found guilty of any charges or, crucially, what punishment they are in line to face if they are guilty.
The Independent's Miguel Delaney reported in January that, according to 'sources with knowledge of the process', it could be 'at least another year' before a final verdict is reached.
Now, former Liverpool director Christian Purslow claims that, theoretically, the three-person panel would resort to 'precedent' and level sporting sanctions at City in the event that they are found to have breached Premier League rules.
Speaking on 'The Football Boardroom', co-hosted by journalist Henry Winter, Purslow explained: "I don't think these matters get resolved, by the way that the APT [Associated Party Transaction] case did, in an out-of-court settlement between the Premier League and Manchester City.
"I want to be really clear on that. I think it would be a terrible mistake for the Premier League to be tempted ... both sides think, 'You know what, let's just reach an agreement for a reasonable sanction, a reasonable settlement, and move on'.
"I think that would be a terrible mistake.
"It would be impossible to keep everybody happy. The smart decision is, if I'm the chairman of the Premier League, let's leave it to the lawyers. Let's leave it to the process, which everybody signed up to.
"My point is a simple one. When this is left to the judges, however frsutrating it is that that takes so long, will be in the land of precedent.
"The precedent is sporting sanction. The sporting sanction is likely to be major points deductions, which ultimately could translate into relegation."
What precedent can the Premier League use?
In general, there is very little precedent for the Premier League from which to base any sanctioning decision.
In 1990, Swindon Town won promotion to the First Division after defeating Sunderland 1-0 in the play-off final.
However, they were later administratively relegated to the Third Division - reduced to the Second Division on appeal - over financial irregularities, relating to 35 counts of illegal player payments.
The Times claimed last year that the Swindon case could be used as a 'legal precedent' when it comes to Manchester City's charges, though it is important to note that there are significant dissimilarities between the two cases.
Man City's 115 charges in full
Man City last won the Premier League title in 2024 - which falls outside of the charging period (Image: Getty)
Man City last won the Premier League title in 2024 - which falls outside of the charging period (Image: Getty)
Here is a full breakdown of the charges laid against City by the Premier League.
Failure to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information from 2009/10 to and including 2017/18 - 54 alleged breaches
Failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 - present [February 2023] - 35 alleged breaches
Failure to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation from 2009/10 to and including 2017/18 - 14 alleged breaches
Breaches of Premier League profitability and sustainability regulations from 2015/16 to and including 2017/18 - Seven alleged breaches
Failure to comply with UEFA's regulations, including UEFA's Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations - Five alleged breaches
The Premier League have declined to comment on claims that the exact number of charges stands at 130 due to an initial reporting error.