Manchester City’s legal battle with the Premier League could take months or even years to resolve, but reports that the club has been found guilty of 114 of 115 financial charges have already raised major questions about sanctions, titles, compensation and the future of its squad.
The Athletic first reported Friday that an independent panel had found City guilty on all but one of the 115 charges brought against the club. A soccer source familiar with the case confirmed the reports to Reuters, saying the process was expected to “drag on.”
No punishment has been formally imposed, and City are expected to appeal any sanction.
Under Premier League rules, punishments can range from a fine or points deduction to expulsion from the competition. The scale of any penalty would depend on the findings and the specific breaches involved.
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak addressed the reports in an open letter to supporters Saturday, reiterating the club’s position that it has committed no wrongdoing.
“The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began,” Al Mubarak wrote.
A three-person appeal board would hear any challenge against the independent judicial panel’s ruling. Unlike in UEFA cases, City cannot take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
That distinction is significant because Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned a two-year Champions League ban imposed on City by UEFA in 2020 over alleged breaches involving sponsorship revenue.
The Premier League case is considerably broader. The charges cover nine seasons between 2009 and 2018 and followed a four-year investigation that began after German publication Der Spiegel released leaked documents involving City executives in 2018.
The timing could create an extraordinary situation for the Premier League.
City currently lead the table after five consecutive victories, but the club could potentially finish the season without knowing whether or how it will be punished.
Even if a verdict and sanction are announced during the campaign, an appeal could delay the implementation of any punishment.
A major points deduction could transform City from title contenders into relegation candidates, depending on its size and timing. Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked points during the 2023-24 season for financial-rule breaches, although City's case involves a much larger number of alleged violations.
The most severe punishment could be expulsion from the Premier League.
That would raise another difficult question over timing. If a sanction were imposed immediately and later overturned, the consequences for the league table and European qualification could be difficult to reverse.
If enforcement were delayed until all appeals were exhausted, rival clubs could argue that they had suffered financial losses because City remained in the competition.
One of the most contentious issues would be what happens to the trophies City won during the period covered by the charges.
Between 2009 and 2018, City won four Premier League titles, four League Cups and the 2011 FA Cup, the club's first major trophy in 35 years.
Manchester United and Liverpool finished second to City twice during those four title-winning campaigns.
That could fuel calls for titles to be retrospectively reassigned if City’s championships were deemed to have been secured through an unfair sporting advantage. But rewriting the Premier League record books would be a complicated process.
City have won four more league titles since 2018, creating further questions about whether later success could also be affected by the findings.
Former Stoke manager Tony Pulis, whose team lost the 2011 FA Cup final to City, said he did not expect trophies simply to be redistributed.
“I don't seriously believe any other trophies and titles will be handed back over either,” Pulis told the BBC. “A points deduction and a massive fine feels far more likely. But I still feel cheated.”
The most prominent precedent is Juventus following the Calciopoli scandal in Italy. Juventus were stripped of two Serie A titles and relegated to Serie B in 2006 after a scandal involving the manipulation of referee assignments.
A similar decision in England would have major implications for the Premier League’s historical records.
Financial compensation may prove a more realistic battleground than the redistribution of trophies.
If City are ultimately found to have gained a sporting or financial advantage through the breaches, rival clubs could seek compensation for lost prize money, European qualification revenue or other financial opportunities.
There is already a recent Premier League precedent. Everton were ordered in June to pay Burnley 35 million pounds ($46 million) after Burnley argued it had been harmed when Everton avoided relegation during a season in which the Merseyside club breached financial sustainability rules.
Similar claims against City could come from clubs that finished behind them in title races or missed out on European competition.
Establishing the precise financial loss suffered by each club, however, could create another lengthy legal battle.
The legal uncertainty has so far done little to affect City’s ability to attract and retain elite players.
The club recently spent about 460 million pounds in a single transfer window on players including Enzo Fernandez, Elliott Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi.
Erling Haaland also signed a nine-year contract in 2025 that could keep him at the Etihad Stadium until he is 34.
The question is whether players have negotiated clauses allowing them to leave if City receive a severe sporting punishment. Those contractual details are not publicly known.
A points deduction could affect the club’s appeal to some players, while relegation or expulsion would present a far greater challenge to its ability to retain its squad.
For now, there is no indication that City’s players will be forced to leave.
The Premier League case against City has become one of the most consequential legal disputes in English football.
The reported guilty findings do not represent the end of the process. A sanction, appeal and potentially further legal challenges still have to be resolved.
If the findings ultimately stand, the consequences could extend far beyond City, affecting league standings, European qualification, prize money and the historical record of the Premier League.
