Employees at Manchester City are operating under significant uncertainty after the independent commission's reported finding that the club are guilty on 114 of their alleged 115 Premier League financial rule breaches, according to new reports.
Erling Haaland was shielded from Norway press conference duties last week in the wake of news on Manchester City's legal battle with the Premier League.
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The verdict, news of which emerged on Friday last week, after nearly two years of deliberation since hearings concluded in late 2024, is understood to have found Manchester City guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules across a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018.
The club strenuously denied all 115 charges throughout proceedings and have indicated their intention to contest the findings, a position chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak reinforced in an open letter to supporters on Saturday, in which he stated that the club's "confidence and intent in proving the Club's innocence is just as strong as when this began."
Sanctions are yet to be determined, with the punishment phase representing a distinct and separate stage of proceedings. Relegation remains among the possible consequences being discussed in English football, and it is the prospect of that outcome - rather than points deductions or fines - that has generated the sharpest anxiety inside the club.
A drop to the EFL Championship would carry consequences that extend well beyond the first team, with the revenue implications for a club of City's size potentially requiring a structural restructuring of the organisation across every department.
City currently sit at the top of the Premier League with five wins from five in the 2026/27 season under Enzo Maresca, and the legal proceedings continue in parallel with a campaign that has shown no visible disruption on the pitch.
Spain captain and former Manchester City midfielder Rodri has backed his former club's innocence following reports that the independent commission found City guilty on 114 of their alleged 115 Premier League financial rule breaches.cityxtra.co.uk"We Will Believe The Club" - Rodri Backs Man City's Innocence Despite Guilty Verdict Reports
Spain captain and former Manchester City midfielder Rodri has backed his former club's innocence following reports that the independent commission found City guilty on 114 of their alleged 115 Premier League financial rule breaches.
Staff Fear Relegation Would Inevitably Result in Job Cuts
Off it, however, the picture inside the Etihad Campus is considerably more unsettled, with the i Paper's reporting painting a picture of a workforce grappling with a future it has not been prepared for.
As reported by the iPaper, multiple members of Manchester City's staff have said the possibility of relegation as a punishment would place jobs across the organisation in jeopardy.
The logic is direct: a significant reduction in Premier League broadcast revenue, matchday income and commercial activity would leave the club with little option but to reduce its workforce considerably.
One staff member was quoted as saying: "This season is going to be so difficult to focus on now. How can we look to the future, when we don't know what our future looks like?"
The report makes clear there has been no contingency planning within the club for the scenario of a guilty verdict. Some employees are said to view that decision as a defensible one, on the basis that staff who were aware of the potential for dramatic changes to the club's circumstances might have operated differently in their roles.
Others are frustrated. In areas such as succession planning, City are said to lead the way among Premier League clubs, making the absence of any preparation for this particular scenario all the more jarring for those now living with the uncertainty.
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City Football Group faces compensation claims that have been estimated at up to £800 million from rival clubs, with Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool among the four sides who have indicated they will pursue legal action if the commission's findings are upheld.
Tottenham are expected to submit the largest individual claim, reported to be in the region of £200 million, on the basis of Champions League qualification missed during the relevant period.
With the sanctions hearing still ahead and a lengthy appeals process to follow, the eventual outcome remains distant - but the uncertainty that has taken hold inside Manchester City will not dissipate until the final whistle sounds.
City return to Premier League action this weekend before October brings the most demanding sequence of the early campaign, including a trip to Liverpool on October 11 and a Paris Saint-Germain Champions League fixture three days later.
Maresca's squad have shown no signs of distraction on the pitch, but the sanctions hearing represents the next major development in a legal process that will run alongside the 2026/27 season and well beyond it.