Half of Europe is currently keeping a close eye on Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, the club’s star players, the potential sanctions facing the English giants, and the consequences they could have for European football as a whole.
For the same reason, attention is also focused on the Premier League headquarters at Brunel Building in London, opposite Paddington Station. There, under intense media and political pressure, an independent commission is expected to decide in the coming weeks what punishment Manchester City should face after the club was found guilty of serious financial misconduct committed between 2009 and 2018.
The final decision is expected in the coming weeks, but for now, City will return to action on Wednesday for another Champions League fixture. They will do so with Guardiola’s symbolic support from the stands and under the scrutiny of the entire footballing continent.
The atmosphere inside the City Football Academy is one of “extreme concern.” Sources close to Manchester City’s dressing room admit that the squad was not fully aware of the seriousness of the situation or the potential consequences of a possible sanction until this summer, when the club’s management began seriously considering the possibility of a substantial punishment.
Now, with the verdict approaching, everyone is asking the same question: “What will happen?”
“We don’t know what will happen, but there is a great deal of concern,” sources close to the players admit, according to El Mundo.
On September 29, 21 months after the conclusion of the hearing, the independent commission handling the Manchester City case confirmed that the club had used fictitious contracts, falsified its accounts and breached the Premier League’s financial control regulations. The allegations involved drastically understating expenses in official financial statements, with the estimated financial impact of the case approaching £1 billion, Sinjali reports.
City have appealed the commission’s decision and, if their appeal is rejected, intend to take the case to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
Under Premier League regulations, the appeal process must be completed no later than two months after notification, and the commission must issue a ruling within 30 days of the final day of the appeal period. This means the process is expected to reach a decisive stage sometime in early February.
As for the potential punishment, a substantial fine is expected, although that prospect does not appear to concern City’s dressing room particularly. However, a points deduction is also being considered, and this is the crucial issue.
If the English club were docked enough points to suffer relegation, several of its star players have already warned the Etihad hierarchy that they would seek to terminate their contracts. Few would be willing to remain in the Championship.
Others, even if relegation does not occur, have made it clear that they will consider their options if the club fails to qualify for European competitions next season. Reports suggest that a points deduction of around 40 to 60 points could be on the table.
At the heart of this equation is Erling Haaland.
In January last year, the Norwegian striker signed a contract extension with Manchester City until June 2034. On the surface, the agreement appears to tie him to the club for the next decade. However, the contract reportedly contains clauses that could facilitate his departure under certain circumstances.
Relegation would undoubtedly be one of them.
This is where Real Madrid come into the picture, alongside Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal. These clubs have been closely monitoring the possibility of Manchester City facing relegation, hoping to take advantage of the situation.
Real Madrid enjoy an excellent relationship with Haaland’s agents and family. The Spanish giants came close to signing him when he was playing for Borussia Dortmund, held several meetings with the striker and his representatives, and have maintained almost continuous, direct communication with them ever since.
That contact is expected to continue until a sanction is officially announced.
With the team facing a period of rebuilding following Guardiola’s departure and Maresca’s arrival, Manchester City are waiting for developments as half of Europe watches eagerly, hoping to seize an opportunity.
