Liverpool and plenty of other clubs will be waiting to see what punishment is handed down to Manchester City, but should titles be stripped, they shouldn't be handed over
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 25: Erling Haaland of Manchester City puts the crown from the 2022/2023 Premier League trophy on his head after dropping it during the After Party Celebration to mark the achievements of Manchester City men’s, women’s and academy teams during the 25/26 season at The Co-op Live Arena on May 25, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
Erling Haaland celebrates with the crown from one of Manchester City's Premier League titles(Image: Getty Images)
A "sham." The Premier League could not have been clearer about Manchester City’s methods after finding the club guilty on nearly all of the charges laid out against it.
No one, not even those who broke the news first last week, could have anticipated just how damning the eventual confirmation would be of the verdict. After years of waiting, it finally feels as though we’re approaching the endgame, and it doesn’t look good if you happen to be a City fan.
As it has throughout this process, the club maintains its innocence, and an appeal seems to be inevitable, although its defense looks flimsier than ever. The question is, when will a punishment be handed down, and what will it be?
In this unprecedented case, everything has to be on the table, and given the scale of the deception with which City is alleged to have undertaken over such a long period of time, it simply cannot get off lightly.
As a Liverpool fan, your thoughts immediately turn to the titles the Reds have missed out on over the years. The 2013/14 near miss falls slap bang in the middle of that nine-year period, but you can easily make the argument that Jurgen Klopp’s side would have had two more league crowns to their name had that base not been built for Pep Guardiola’s dominant team.
Should City’s appeal fail, and the club is indeed found to have cheated the system, then there is no doubt in my mind that all of the titles it has won since that nine-year period began should be stripped.
Vincent Kompany of Manchester City lifts the Barclays Premier League trophy (Photo by James Baylis/AMA/AMA/Corbis via Getty Images)
Liverpool finished second to Manchester City in the 2013/14 Premier League(Image: Getty Images)
Like Jamie Carragher though, I am torn on whether they should then be reallocated.
Had you asked me last week, I would have absolutely vouched for titles to be handed over to whoever finished second to City in all those years. Yes, even if it meant Manchester United holding more than Liverpool once again.
The problem with that is it simply doesn’t repair enough of the damage. Players and managers have been denied their moment in the sun, and getting a medal through the post is not going to be anywhere near as rewarding for them.
“I've been very lucky, to win a few medals, and I don't look at the medal, I never look at the medal years later. But what happens is, my mind goes back to a moment,” Carragher explained.
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"I get a feeling in my stomach, I remember the referee blowing the final whistle of a big game ... that feeling I got. Those players will never get that feeling. And it was robbed by Manchester City ... I don't think any player will care if you go and give them a medal ... he'll never look at it. He won't care, he won't have that feeling, have that memory.
"And that's why I don't think it makes that much difference whether these players get medals because they've lost the moment. And when you win things as a footballer, nobody remembers the medal, it’s what it felt like going for a night out with your mates after, where you went, what you did, the people you bumped into.”
What’s more, City handing over any titles feels like an empty gesture from a club that continues to show no remorse for its actions. In doing so, it would almost be like they still held some kind of superiority.
Liverpool Legends' manager Jurgen Klopp (L) shakes hands with Liverpool Legends' midfielder Steven Gerrard (R) as he is substituted during the Legends football match between Liverpool Legends and Dortmund Legends at Anfield in Liverpool, north-west England on March 28, 2026. (Photo by PETER POWELL / AFP via Getty Images)
Jurgen Klopp and Steven Gerrard have both been denied deserved titles because of Manchester City(Image: Getty Images)
A stronger message from the Premier League would come in simply declaring those titles null and void — a permanent stain on City’s history that cannot be wiped out.
Do I wish Steven Gerrard could finally get the league title his career deserved? Absolutely. Do I wish Klopp’s legacy as one of the greatest managers to grace the Premier League could be consolidated with two more winners’ medals? Definitely.
If titles are to be handed over, then they and their teammates/players should absolutely feel like they can celebrate in whatever manner they see fit. It feels like it would be giving City an easy way to atone for its indiscretions though.
Strip City of its crowns, but don’t hand them over to Liverpool or anyone else. I don’t want City's "sham" titles.