Erling Haaland (Man City)
Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Manchester City have been warned that their players could 'rip up their contracts' after the club were found guilty on 115 financial charges.
The English club are expected to appeal the verdict, which was reached by an independent commission and announced earlier this week. Man City are accused of agreeing 'sham' contracts and agreements to artificially inflate the club's income between 2009 and 2018.
Should the charges stick, there could be a lot of trouble on the horizon for the Citizens. Possible punishments touted include large fines, transfer bans, points deductions and even relegation.
Man City Could Lose Star Players For Free
Rayan Cherki in action for Manchester City
Rayan Cherki in action for Manchester City
However, it has now been claimed that the club could even lose players for free. Should any of the current squad pursue legal action against their employers, they will have a genuine case, according to barrister Paul Gilroy KC.
Speaking about this week's guilty verdict on The Overlap, Gilroy was asked by Ian Wright if the players could take action against Man City.
The legal expert responded: "Definitely, yes, good question, that, on the players' perspective. Every contract of employment, whether it's a footballer or someone who works in a shop, has got an implied term in it. In other words, it's not written down. And the implied term we're talking about here is the term of trust and confidence."
Man City corner flag
Man City corner flag
Explaining the 'trust and confidence' premise, he added: "So if I work for you, you and I must have sufficient trust and confidence in each other to enable that relationship to work.
"If you don't trust me, or I don't trust you, or if you call me a liar and a thief on Tuesday, I can't work for you on a Wednesday - trust and confidence.
So, according to Gilroy, a player could potentially rip up their contract, continuing: "Now, a player could say 'You have breached the implied term of trust and confidence. You are my employer, you have acted in breach of that term, and that entitles me to say I'm ripping up my contract and I'm walking out.'"
He did admit that it would be unlikely, however, adding: "That is a possibility; I've seen commentators saying unlikely, but it depends on so many things. What's the club going to say to the players? How do they sort it out financially? Etc, etc. But arguably, it's certainly a possibility."
Jamie Carragher was quick to joke that Erling Haaland could join his old club Liverpool for nothing. He quipped: "So Liverpool could sign Haaland for free next week?"
Erling Haaland's Stance on Guilty Verdict
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland
Haaland, City's biggest name, is currently on international duty with Norway. He is yet to publicly comment on the guilty verdict, but his teammate Kristoffer Ajer has revealed how the striker has reacted to the news.
The Brentford and Norway defender stated that Haaland hasn't changed since the news broke and continues to wait for the final outcome. He told the press: