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Premier League clubs want a resolution to the Manchester City case before the end of the season, GIVEMESPORT understands.
City were found guilty of all 115 charges over financial breaches this week, although there is an expectation that they will appeal the decision, with the club continuing to maintain their innocence.
The case against City has been ongoing for more than three years, with a verdict finally delivered this week and now everyone in the footballing world waits to see what the outcome of any appeal might be and what punishment will be handed down if the verdict is not overturned.
The appeal process can take as long as 12 weeks to run its course, with a final outcome potentially not known until the end of 2026. However, City's punishment by the Premier League could be handed down before that.
Speaking in his exclusive GMS newsletter, senior football correspondent Ben Jacobs said: "When we get to a potential punishment, it's usually, according to protocol, given immediately while the appeal is ongoing, and that's significant as well.
"And my understanding is that Premier League clubs are set to write to Richard Masters and stress this needs to be concluded this season, especially now all of the information, or most of it, is laid bare.
So if we get to punishments, you've got this sliding scale of fines, warnings, suspended punishments, transfer bans, points deductions, and at the very extreme, expulsion from the Premier League.
"And the Premier League now can play prosecutor and recommend a punishment, but it's the independent panel that will decide, subject again to another appeal process."
Four Premier League clubs have already written to Manchester City, to reserve their right to claim potential damages and GMS sources have revealed the staggering extent of just how much City could be forced to pay their rivals, if their appeal does not bear fruit.
It has already been reported that some clubs could demand in the region of £100million, but figures could be much, much higher, depending on the number of teams who think they have been wronged.
City won three Premier League titles between 2009 and 2018 - the period in which the charges for financial breaches were brought, as well as an FA Cup and three League Cups.
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Fees correct prior to summer 2026
Jacobs added: "The Premier League may realise Pandora's box is opened if it gets to damages.
"Any club could say, ‘with City out of the league, we'd have been bumped up a place, we want more prize money’. Maybe clubs got relegated, and if you remove City's results from the league, the points tallies would have been different. Teams that missed out on Champions League football, teams that were unable to win silverware in seasons where City did, and when you add all of that up together, a lot of sources feel that the number would be in the billions, and quite hard to handle if everyone's taking a swing at City legally speaking.
"So instead, the Premier League could choose to centralise compensation on behalf of their members past and present, and that would be very interesting."
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland