Liverpool legend and ex-England defender Jamie Carragher (Picture: The Overlap)
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher doubts Manchester City will sustain a successful title challenge after the extraordinary Premier League guilty verdict.
Man City have enjoyed an impressive start to the 2026/27 season under new manager Enzo Maresca, winning seven games in a row to jump to the top of the Premier League table.
But the Manchester club face huge uncertainty off the pitch after being found guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules between the 2009 and 2018.
Etihad Stadium bosses have appealed the verdict, which found that the club ‘relied on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs’.
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Carragher believes this unprecedented saga will prove to be too big a distraction for Man City and says other clubs will be ‘baying for blood’ when they come up against Maresca’s side.
Manchester City’s first game since the guilty verdict is a daunting trip to Anfield to face Liverpool, the team they denied multiple Premier League trophies over the past decade.
Carragher says Man City have been the ‘best team’ so far this season but doubts they will maintain this pace in the wake of the charges and ahead of possible punishments which could be extremely severe.
Manchester City's Italian manager Enzo Maresca looks on during the English FA Community Shield football match between Arsenal and Manchester City at The Principality Stadium, in Cardiff, south Wales on August 16, 2026. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images)
Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca (Picture: AFP)
‘I think the problem Man City are going to have this season – if we just think about this season for a minute and Enzo Maresca and the current players,’ Carragher said on The Overlap.
‘They’re top of the league at the minute and have been the best team in the early part of the season.
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‘I just find it very difficult to imagine they will keep that going because every away game you go to will be the best atmosphere in that ground this season or very close to it. Everyone is baying for blood.’
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Carragher’s assessment of Manchester City could clear the way for defending champions Arsenal to win back-to-back Premier League titles.
Asked how he believes the Premier League should punish Man City, Carragher added: ‘I’ve heard people talk about a 100-point deduction, but that’s just over one season that gets them relegated and then they will come back again.
‘Looking at the current players, a few of them would leave, but I think some of them would say, “I could put up with that for a year.” It also builds a connection with the supporters, it’ll be seen in a great light.
‘But I think because this has gone on for so long, I do think the punishment should be over a number of years, three to five years and then players would move on.
‘But then you’ve got the financial aspect of how can they afford the wages of those players if they haven’t got Premier League money?
‘If they’re having to pay all this money out and you can only spend the money that you’re bringing in. They’ll have to abide by it now.’
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Carragher also believes the position of the current Manchester City owners is untenable, not only due to the rule breaches but their response to the guilty verdict.
‘These owners, I said straight away that I don’t know how they can continue. How can you ever trust them if they’re found guilty of this?
[Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta arrives to the stadium before the Ipswich Town v Arsenal Carabao Cup 3rd Round match at Portman Road, Ipswich, England on 15 September 2026 Credit: Tiego Grenho/Every Second Media
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta arrives to the stadium before the Ipswich Town v Arsenal Carabao Cup 3rd Round match at Portman Road, Ipswich, England on 15 September 2026 Credit: Tiego Grenho/Every Second Media](https://metro.co.uk/2026/10/05/atletico-madrid-juventus-eye-move-52million-arsenal-star-29681966/)
‘And the problem being is my worry for it is it won’t be a case of, if they lose the appeal, “Okay, yeah, we’ll get on, we’ll take our punishment.”
‘I think because of where they’re from, the power they have, the finances they have, they’ll never admit they were wrong in this, and they would always say we were wronged.
‘This was a sham, the Premier League as such, or different people. And I think they’ll keep just dragging it on and I think it’ll just drag the game into the gutter.
‘And it almost needs sorting out for the game, but also for Manchester City, their support to move on from it. And I don’t think they’d ever be able to move on from it with those people.’
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