REUTERS/Gareth Bumstead
This week has seen football shaken to its very core by the revelation that Manchester City have been found guilty of all 115 financial breach charges that the Premier League launched an investigation into nearly three years ago.
Among the independent panel's findings were that City arranged "sham contracts" with a number of commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise more than £830m in secret funding. The Premier League said City "systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade".
Now, their meteoric rise to a glorious period of success that saw them dubbed potentially the greatest British side of all time has been stripped of its gloss, regardless of whether or not any sanctions include stripping them of their titles, as their rise now appears to have been built on a false premise.
With their reputation hanging on by less than a single thread, the Cityzens are inarguably football's biggest villains now. But while they appear to have taken that title from World Cup evildoer Gianni Infantino, it turns out he could also work his way back into the frame for his role in the decade-long saga.
Hacker Rui Pinto Releases New Info About Gianni Infantio Amid Man City Guilt
REUTERS/Carl Recine
The Swiss millionaire has come under fire throughout the summer for several contentious moments — not least the ease with which his good friend, Donald Trump, was able to lobby him into rescinding Folarin Balogun's red card after the Round of 32. His plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup also attracted even harshercriticism and could ultimately cost him his position as FIFA's head honcho.
Now, it turns out Infantino might have known about the Cityzens' dodgy dealings long before this week's findings became public knowledge. Rui Pinto, whose hacking skills first exposed Man City's financial irregularities, wrote on X (see the full post below):
The Etihad Stadium
The Etihad Stadium
The revelation is crucial because, had Infantino acted at the time, the Cityzens may never have been allowed to participate in the Champions League, earn money from the highly lucrative competition and, in turn, potentially reach the point where they won the treble in the 2022/23 campaign.
While Pinto doesn't add too much context to his bombshell new post, it appears there are also unearthed details surrounding Paris Saint-Germain - the winners of the last two titles - and alleged financial breaches.
Man City's Potential Punishments
REUTERS/Molly Darlington
It is currently unknown what exactly the punishment will be because it has never been put in writing how clubs would be punished if they were to breach financial rules.
In other words, the Premier League has left itself with a blank canvas when it comes to deciding the scale of City's punishment, meaning almost anything could potentially be on the table. Meanwhile, any final decision is still a long way off, with the club expected to weigh up whether to appeal or not.
The Premier League also does not have set sanctions for breaches because there were fears that, if clubs were made aware of the punishments, they could simply break the rules and take the hit if they knew what the consequences were and deemed them satisfactory enough to accept.
However, some of the options include:
A large fine
A points deduction
Expulsion from the Premier League
Transfer ban
Stripped of titles won