Manchester City’s remarkable start to life under new head coach Enzo Maresca has been overshadowed by one of the most damaging verdicts in English football history. An independent Premier League commission found the club guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought against it.
The commission ruled that City had broken Premier League financial rules over a nine-season period between 2009 and 2018, with the club found to have arranged “sham” contracts with commercial partners to inflate revenues and reduce costs to the tune of more than £900m. Only one charge, relating to a specific failure to cooperate with the investigation, was not proven.
City have always denied wrongdoing and are expected to appeal, with the club saying it was “disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s findings.
Sanctions have not yet been determined, but they range from a heavy fine to a significant points deduction, with the possibility of relegation not ruled out by some legal observers.
The timing could hardly be more awkward for Maresca, who replaced Pep Guardiola in the summer after the Spaniard’s decade-long, trophy-laden reign came to an end. City go into the verdict unbeaten and top of the Premier League, having backed their new head coach with serious investment in the transfer market.
Reacting on social media shortly before the news broke, Maresca posted a simple message alongside a gallery of images: “Time to breathe. Time to analyse. Time to learn.”
It was a notably measured response from a manager who has previously tried to keep the long-running case at arm’s length from his squad. Asked about the charges in his first press conference in charge, Maresca pointed out that the uncertainty was nothing new to him, given he was on Guardiola’s coaching staff when the case was first opened back in February 2023.
Bryan King says Tottenham need to be investigated for financial irregularities
While City’s guilt has been established beyond doubt by the panel, the verdict has also prompted a wave of deflection from some supporters of the club, with attention turning to the financial position of rivals rather than City’s own conduct.
Among those raising questions has been Bryan King, who worked as a senior scout for Tottenham Hotspur between 2002 and 2008.
Speaking to Football Insider, King suggested City’s success in the transfer market should not be viewed in isolation.
“Man City brought in the right players. Financially, whatever went on. The fact is, you can buy a player for £50m and somebody else will say, ‘we couldn’t afford him,'” he said.
King went further, turning his attention to Tottenham’s own spending. “If anybody had said about financial irregularities, you’d have said, ‘well, what about Tottenham?’
“They’re in massive debt with the new stadium. What gives them the right to be able to bring in players and spend £400m when they haven’t even paid off the stadium yet?
“There are so many hypocrites in the game at the moment. Nobody’s interested in losers anymore. They’re interested in winners.”.
What happens next for City
City have until Friday to lodge a formal appeal against the commission’s findings, though unlike their 2020 UEFA case, they will not be able to turn to the Court of Arbitration for Sport this time around.
The club could also face a string of compensation claims from rivals who argue they were competitively disadvantaged during the period in question.
