Big problem for City! The Premier League has accused the English club of not only breaching Financial Fair Play. What are the Citizens facing?

Manchester City in England like Juventus in Italy? That could very well become a reality. After all, the English club has been accused by the Premier League itself of breaking financial rules multiple times between 2009 and 2018! What are the Citizens facing?

The British media has come up with the information in the last few dozen minutes that the Premier League, after a four-year investigation, has accused Manchester City of multiple breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018.

The Premier League has reportedly handed the English club over to an independent commission while accusing City of failing to cooperate since the investigation began in December 2018.

England’s top competition then said in its official statement that City had broken rules requiring it to provide accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position.

So what has City done?

The information concerned the club’s income, which includes income from sponsors and operating costs. However, the Citizens are alleged to have committed other misdemeanours.

These are alleged to be breaches of rules relating to managerial remuneration, from the 2009-10 to 2012-13 seasons when Roberto Mancini was in charge – and on player remuneration from 2010-11 to 2015-16.

The bottom line is that City broke rules relating to UEFA regulations, including Financial Fair Play, from 2013-14 to 2017-18. And also Premier League rules relating to profitability and sustainability between 2015-16 and 2017-18.

However, BBC journalist Simon Stone points out fans should not expect a resolution to this case any time soon. Indeed, Manchester City have always denied financial wrongdoing.

The club has always maintained that the details and documents released by German newspaper Der Spiegel, which received all the information from Football Leaks, were incomplete.

As Stone also writes, when UEFA launched its investigation, City said it did not believe the investigation. And when it went against it, it went straight to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where it was cleared of the charges.

However, if Manchester City loses this fight, the punishment could be very severe. And not just a points deduction, but an outright relegation.

But the Premier League is in uncharted territory in this sense, and so there is also a question mark hanging over how the club could actually be punished.

Sources: Premier League, BBC, Canal+