Manchester City have been found guilty of 114 charges related to Premier League financial rules and face a potential points deduction, with Liverpool among the clubs watching closely
Manchester City won four Premier League titles in a row
Manchester City won four Premier League titles in a row(Image: Getty Images)
Manchester City are most probably facing a points deduction, according to leading football finance expert Kieran Maguire. Liverpool and fellow Premier League clubs are monitoring developments closely after City was found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial regulations.
City intend to challenge the groundbreaking verdict and have robustly maintained their innocence throughout proceedings. Nevertheless, any penalty is expected to be imposed before the appeals procedure can be completed.
Possible sanctions vary from financial penalties to points deductions or potentially expulsion from the top flight. The allegations date back to the 2009-10 season, throughout which City have claimed multiple major trophies.
During that timeframe, Liverpool and Manchester United was pipped to the title by the Citizens, while the current Premier League table-toppers qualified for the Champions League in every campaign being examined. There remains a possibility that City could be stripped of their championships, though this is currently considered improbable.
A football finance lecturer and co-presenter of the Price of Football podcast, Maguire reckons a points sanction represents the likeliest outcome. He told TalkTV: "There is no doubt a points deduction would be the most likely outcome in the view of many.", reports the Liverpool Echo. "We have seen them before for Nottingham Forest and Everton for breaches of the financial limit rules. So that is feasible."
In 2023, Everton was docked 10 points - later reduced to six following an appeal - for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules. The Merseyside club received an additional two-point penalty for a similar breach in April 2024.
The Premier League could be set to deliver an unprecedented punishment on Manchester City
The Premier League could be set to deliver an unprecedented punishment on Manchester City(Image: Getty Images)
Also in 2024, Forest was handed a four-point deduction for violating PSR regulations. The club was deemed to have surpassed their permitted $80 million loss limit by $45.7 million.
Maguire added: "If you take a look at the Premier League handbook, it says the recommendations are as broad-based as you want them to be. Anything from a fine to a points deduction, to expulsion from the league..
"Also, it could be that the titles won during that period will be taken away, though you can't retrospectively have the joy that winning a match and title brings from a fan's perspective. ".
Meanwhile, former City chairman David Bernstein believes "money is not sufficient" as a potential punishment for the club. Bernstein, who held the position of City chairman between 1998 and 2003, is keen to see the issue resolved swiftly.
He told Times Radio: "I felt absolutely awful, I felt in shock yesterday, actually. I think you've asked me on the programme because of my time as chair of City and the FA, but basically, I'm a fan of Manchester City and have been a fan for 70 years."
He told Times Radio: "It's really awful that this great period of success, which followed many years of being less successful, when I was chair, I think I helped get the club out of a very difficult period and started the road to better things. ". "But to see all this tarnished in this way is very sad, I feel particularly bad for the wonderful supporters of the club who've stayed with the club through thick and thin. It's a pretty bad day I think for the fans in blue of Manchester."