REUTERS/Scott Heppell
With just days to go until the 2026/27 Premier League starts, it's quite remarkable that the case relating to Manchester City's alleged Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches has not yet been resolved.
The Etihad club were charged with 115 breaches back in February 2023, but that number has since increased to 130. The hearing then ended in December 2024, but the public are none the wiser on how things will actually play out.
As eloquently summed up by The Telegraph journalist Oliver Brown: "Three Prime Ministers, five Foreign Secretaries and 32 Premier League managers have come and gone since 115 charges of alleged financial impropriety were first levelled against Manchester City. So have eight solar eclipses, four conjunctions of Venus and Jupiter, plus, most fittingly of all given the song that City fans sing so defiantly about their team, two blue moons."
Man City now head into a fifth consecutive top-flight campaign with the charges hanging over them, and Premier League CEO Richard Masters has offered his honest thoughts on the matter.
Kyle Walker and Pep Guardiola
Kyle Walker and Pep Guardiola
Richard Masters Explains Lack of Information on Man City Charges
Manchester City corner flag via Reuters
Speaking to Sky News, Masters explained why he was unable to give any indication of how the trial played out while admitting that he 'understands the frustrations' regarding the delay in information. He said:
Many fans and even insiders expected the case to be resolved this summer, with a final verdict made clear to the public. However, as delays continue, it remains unclear how much longer it could be before any answers are actually given.
If found guilty, the shockwaves throughout English football would be massive. Some have speculated that Man City could be stripped of past titles, while there have been reports that Premier League rivals would then sue the Manchester club for compensation over potential lost earnings.
Why Chelsea's Case Has Been Resolved Faster Than Man City Charges
Reuters/Peter Cziborra
Man City are not the only club to have been charged with breaching Premier League rules in recent times. One of the most notable cases saw Chelsea fined £10m and given a suspended transfer ban for breaching 74 rules relating to payment to agents.
While the severity of punishment, or lack of it, has sparked plenty of debate, the speed at which the case came to a close has also raised some questions. On that matter, Masters was able to explain why City's alleged breaches have taken too much longer to resolve:
"In the situation with Chelsea, obviously it's historic. It's very different to PSR cases. In the case of Chelsea, the new owners came forward with all the information, and we decided to enter a sanction agreement.
"That sanction agreement was overseen by a commission as well, and part of the role of the commission is to assure that that sanction is not unduly lenient.
"I think the key difference is, given the evidence base and given the lack of witnesses, none of the people involved with these payments are still at the club, we're not able to interview them, the evidence base isn't complete.
"The alternative to entering the sanction agreement was to go down a contested commission route. I'm not sure we'd have been able to bring all of the charges that the club ultimately admitted to, or be successful in getting them, so I don't think there was an easy choice for the board to make.
"We took a decision that the sanction agreement was the best thing for the league, and we're fully aware that not everyone agrees that that was the right course of action, and we just have to accept that."