A football finance expert has revealed his latest verdict on Manchester City’s FFP case against the Premier League, with a “very severe penalty” possible.
Man City are still facing around 130 charges over alleged breaches of the Premier League’s FFP rules in a case that’s been ongoing since the start of 2023.
Pep Guardiola‘s side were referred to an independent commission after being accused of breaching regulations over nine years between 2009 and 2018.
Man City have insisted on their innocence and have been involved in a heated conflict with the Premier League, with the two sides also butting heads over Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.
A lot is at stake for either side with the Premier League’s reputation under immense scrutiny as they face a massive legal bill. As for Man City, they could be given a huge fine, points deduction, transfer ban and/or expulsion if they are found guilty.
City have gone about their business as usual during this process as they were comfortably Europe’s biggest spenders in January to move up in our five-year Premier League net spend table.
Man City’s FFP hearing concluded at the end of 2024, but a verdict is yet to be announced and it remains to be seen when there be a concrete update.
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Finance expert Kieran Maguire has consistently spoken on this subject throughout this tiresome process and he’s broken down the three main “issues” Man City are battling against.
“In terms of the effective accusation of fraud against Manchester City, taking money from the club owners and disguising that as sponsorship revenue, Manchester City have to be party to the guilt of that, the sponsors have to be party to the guilt of that, and the auditors have to be incompetent or in on it – and they won’t be in on it,” Maguire told Manchester Evening News.
“If that is proven, there will be a very severe penalty and the board of directors of Manchester City would have to follow the same route as Juventus and resign.
“The other issue is non-cooperation with the Premier League. I think that City will quite happily say they haven’t co-operated. If they get found guilty of that, there will be a penalty in terms of a fine because it’s a fiscal issue.
“The third issue [is] of paying managers and players off-book. It’s more complicated but more likely to be found guilty in terms of the burden of proof because the auditors wouldn’t be involved because it’s a private arrangement.
“Roberto Mancini was accused but didn’t attend the hearing because he’s under no obligation to do so, so where’s the proof? It’s really difficult.”
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Maguire has also provided an insight into the complexity of the case, with a delayed announcement “frustrating”.
“It took 14 weeks to hear all of the evidence. I believe there were half a million pieces of written evidence submitted by both parties,” Maguire added.
“That means that the commission has an awful lot. They have to get the decision right, but we stopped the hearing in the second week in December.
“We’re six months later in to the case and nothing has come out of it. It’s frustrating.”