Speaking at Leaders Week London 2026 at Stamford Bridge, Lineker warned that the situation looks bleak for the Manchester outfit. He immediately dismissed any suggestions of an orchestrated plot against the club.
"It looks really bad for Manchester City," the former England striker said. "When they talk about the Premier League conspiracy theories, you just think to yourself, well, this is actually the last thing in the world that the Premier League would want.
"So, I'd love to see City now just own it and just say, 'OK, we got it wrong but for the good of the game, we'll accept it, accept whatever punishment comes our way and we'll carry on.
"That would be a blessing and they could save their face a little bit. At the moment that doesn't look very likely. But it is damaging. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes down the route of titles being stripped."
Lineker also highlighted the collateral damage that severe penalties will inflict on innocent parties. "Ultimately, who suffers from that? Players and fans," he continued. "It's going to be one of those punishments, and it has to be, obviously, severe, because we are talking about a lot of offences. So it's going to be difficult, and everyone will have a different idea of what this should be."
Drawing on his own playing days, the former Match of the Day host empathised with the current squad. "It's not something I've really experienced very often in my career," he said. "I remember when English clubs were banned from Europe, and it cost me playing in the European Cup for Everton. So, again, players will suffer from this, and that's that."