Manchester City are sweating on their potential punishment, after being found guilty of the majority of the 115 financial charges levelled against them.
After years of speculation over when exactly they might get their comeuppance, Manchester City have finally been found guilty of the majority of the 115 charges related to breaching financial rules, brought against them by the Premier League. The club are set to appeal, as rumours swirl over the potential punishment they could initially be handed out.
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It’s an unprecedented situation, and one which could see the club stripped of past trophy wins, docked a substantial amount of points which could, in effect, relegate them, or be expelled from the Premier League altogether. Rival English top tier sides are also said to be plotting legal action, having missed out on titles and European qualification to City during the time period under scrutiny.
Given that the Premier League and EFL have separate governing bodies, it’s not as simple as City being, for example, hurled straight into League Two. They could instead receive a crippling points deduction, either immediate or suspended, that would make staying afloat in England’s top tier impossible.
As the horrifically rendered AI videos of police raiding the Etihad Stadium to seize trophies do the rounds on social media, thought has also turned to what relegation would mean for City’s star players. Something tells us that Enzo Fernandez wouldn’t exactly be thrilled at the prospect of taking on Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth next season.
A mass exodus of City’s players would be most likely, with the majority of their expensively assembled roster of superstars likely to seek employment elsewhere. In the event of a mega sale at the Etihad next summer, we’ve had a crack at predicting where some of their top players could go should City’s Premier League rivals smell blood and swoop in.
Which players will Man City sell if the get relegated?
The concept of former Champions League winner Gianluigi Donnarumma playing Championship football is a tough one to graspplaceholder image
The concept of former Champions League winner Gianluigi Donnarumma playing Championship football is a tough one to grasp | Getty Images
You might not have be aware of this, but apparently Manchester United need a new left-back. That’s what approximately 400,000 football articles have proclaimed over the past three months, anyway. Luke Shaw is in the twilight of his career, and Patrick Dorgu isn’t exactly a reliable backup when the 31-year-old starter needs a bit of a breather.
City have two top class left-backs in Nico O’Reilly and Josep Gvardiol. Being a homegrown talent, we can just about see O’Reilly willing to stick it out in the Championship for a season. The latter, however, will likely look to get out of Dodge pronto. If there was ever a time for a player to cross the red and sky blue divide for the first time since Carlos Tevez in 2009, it’s now.
Liverpool’s ears may also have pricked up following news of City’s struggles - not least because they may have a thing or two to say about Pep Guardiola’s men winning the league title ahead of them in 2013/14. Also the 2015/16 League Cup, for that matter. The Reds are also in need of a successor to Alisson, who’s expected to leave the club next summer.
Towering stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma is among the best goalkeepers in world football and, at 27-years-old, still has easily a decade of his professional career ahead of him. He may well shoot off back to Europe if City are plunged into the second tier, but with the Reds noted long-term admirers, they just might have a crack at luring him along the M62.
Chelsea’s defending has been utterly shambolic so far this season - they have quite literally the worst defensive record in the Premier League - and they could rather do with a new centre-back who simply isn’t Wesley Fofana. The Blues were eager to re-sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, but ultimately lost out to City. Bringing in a top class, academy-grown star would be a seriously smart bit of business from Chelsea.
City’s star players set for mass exodus if relegation occurs
Man City's Antoine Semenyo has been exceptional since sealing his move from Bournemouth last January.placeholder image
Man City's Antoine Semenyo has been exceptional since sealing his move from Bournemouth last January. | Getty Images
Arsenal faffed about in the summer transfer window, losing out on £117m superstar Morgan Rogers to London rivals Chelsea and wasting precious time on a fanciful pursuit of Real Madrid gem Vinicius Junior, who some suggested was merely using the Gunners’ interest as leverage to secure a notably juicier contract extension offer from Los Blancos.
The Gunners failed to sign a top quality new left winger, but City’s struggles could see them seize a prime opportunity to sign one of the best in the Premier League: Jeremy Doku. The Belgium international would be the final piece in Arsenal’s puzzle, and would surely see them enter an era of real dominance with the Citizens very much out of the picture.
Liverpool didn’t quite manage to find their successor to Mohamed Salah, despite splurging £123m on Bradley Barcola towards the end of the summer window in what may or may not have been a bit of a panic buy. The Reds were desperate to get their hands on Antoine Semenyo before his move to City, and you’d be a fool to bet against them reigniting their interest were Enzo Maresca’s side to go down.
We may also see Aston Villa dip their toe into the vast City superstar reservoir should things go as south as expected. Unai Emery’s side are in need of a new centre-back - if you don’t believe us, just look what the stats say about their defenders so far this season - and might just fancy a cheeky bid for Abdukodir Khusanov. He’s said to be of interest to a number of Premier League teams, as the vulture around City continue to circle.
Read more:The surprising £233m Premier League team of the season so far - including Newcastle, Leeds and Everton stars