Man City corner flag
A corner flag at the Etihad Stadium before a match.
Arsenal legend Martin Keown has shed light on what he is “hearing” about the Manchester City FFP saga and when it will be “all over”.
We are all awaiting the outcome of the Man City FFP saga after it was confirmed that they have been found guilty on 114 of their 115 charges for breaching rules between 2009 and 2018.
Enzo Maresca‘s side have appealed the initial verdict and continue to insist on their innocence, but they face severe sanctions if they cannot overturn the ruling.
Possible punishments include a fine, points deduction, transfer ban, expulsion and/or being stripped of their Premier League titles.
It has also been widely reported that it will be incredibly difficult for Man City to overturn the initial verdict, though there has been mixed messaging about when the saga will end.
Martin Keown reveals what he’s “hearing” about Manchester City’s FFP case
It has been suggested that the saga could end at the start of 2027 or beyond the end of this season, but Keown is “hearing” that it will be “all over” in “six weeks”.
Keown has also suggested that Man City could only end up with a minor punishment.
“I’m hearing rumours that this will all be over in a number of weeks,” Keown said on talkSPORT.
READ: Man City FFP: Hammer blow for PL as clubs send stark warning about punishment timeframe
“I’m just telling you what I’m hearing.
“In six weeks or so, we’ll see what’s going to happen.
“And it won’t be nearly as bad as we think it might be.
“Maybe they get off with huge fines and we return to the football pitch again.”
Despite this, football finance expert Kieran Maguire has explained why Man City at least should be expecting a substantial points deduction and fine if the guilty verdict remains.
“The redacted report sets out year by year how much the sham contracts contributed to the artificial commercial revenue,” Maguire told GiveMeSport.
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“Over the rolling three-year period, in some years we could be talking about a £350million difference. That would shatter all records for PSR compliance.
“Everton and Nottingham Forest’s deductions covered a single breach in a single year, an overspend of no more than £20million. So is there a ceiling on what can be deducted?
“And the sanctions hearing could already have taken place. Because City are appealing and everyone has NDAs, we might not know the sanction until the appeal result. But it has to be multiple double figures of points, before you start the calculations.
“I worked out that if you add up nine years of Champions League non-participation for individual clubs at an average of £50million a time, around £20million for the Europa League, plus potential claims from players who missed bonuses, the Premier League’s legal fees and a fine, we’re talking in excess of a billion pounds regardless of the points deduction.”