Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca has discussed the importance of UEFA Champions League to the club, albeit admitting he does not know if it will be the last one 'for a while' ahead of an intriguing clash with holders Paris Saint-Germain.
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The Citizens have been found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League, which relate to serious breaches of the league’s financial rules and multiple failures to comply with its investigation.
Following a subsequent and thought-out appeal, a confirmation of the original verdict could lead to severe sanctions, including relegation, a prolonged transfer ban, or the stripping of titles secured from 2009 to 2018.
There is nothing Maresca or his players can do to change off-the-pitch matters, though the City boss himself, alongside Erling Haaland, showed support for the club during a pivotal period in its history.
Maresca: I don’t know if this is the last UEFA Champions League for Man City for a while
Whether we will see Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League next season, or in the next five seasons for that matter, will be totally dependent on the outcome of the appeal.
A new three-person commission has 12 weeks to conduct a five-day hearing, where City lawyers will fight until the last moment to find a solution to the potentially club-shattering sanctions proposed.
City’s success on the pitch is all that matters to Maresca at present, and while he faces his toughest test in Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, the Italian is striving to improve in the competition over recent seasons.
Speaking ahead of the clash in a press conference on Tuesday, Maresca said: “I'm just focused on tomorrow. For sure, the Champions League for this organisation is so, so important - no doubt.
"We're going to try to improve compared to the last two or three years, when the club and team struggled a little bit, so we're going to try to do our best to improve from that.”
On how far Manchester City can progress in the competition this season, he added: “Where we can be in March, April or if this is the last Champions League for a while, I don't know.”
Maresca unnerved over PSG threat and doesn’t know if Man City can win UEFA Champions League
Since winning the UEFA Champions League as part of a historic Treble under Pep Guardiola in 2023, City have fallen at the hands of Real Madrid in the last three seasons, failing to make it further than the quarter-final.
And while Maresca has guided Manchester City to a perfect start this season - beating the likes of Manchester United, Porto and Liverpool, all away games with clean sheets- a tough group that contains Barcelona, PSG and Napoli provides the toughest but most rewarding tests there are.
On Tuesday, Maresca expressed a sense of fear when talking about the relentless force of PSG, while also failing to provide a gauge of how far City may be from winning their second-ever UEFA Champions League title.
The 46-year-old said: “I think we are, for sure, a good team - no doubts about that. Where we are in this moment compared to PSG? I don't know, to be honest.
“I know how good they are because in the last two years they won the last two Champions Leagues; that shows how good they are. But at the same time, I don't know if we are close, far, or where we are, but for sure we are a good team.”
Maresca last faced PSG when he was Chelsea manager in July 2025, when Cole Palmer scored a brace before Joao Pedro added a third for the Stamford Bridge side as Maresca's group claimed a 3-0 win in the FIFA Club World Cup final.