Morning all.
Speculation about the punishment Man City should receive has been rife since the day the guilty verdict news broke. Everything from hefty fines, points deductions, transfer embargo’s, to being thrown out the Premier League altogether, plus many other suggestions in between.
A fine, regardless of how big, would be pointless in my opinion. I don’t think relegation would be the answer either because they’d be back in the Premier League no sooner than they’d left it plus, I think it’s an insult to those clubs already in the Championship, League One etc etc. It also takes away those clubs chances of earning promotion themselves, after all, how could a club like Reading compete with a juggernaut like City in League One?
Strip away the titles they won during the periods stated in the cases listed within the charges? Absolutely yes in my opinion, including the domestic cups they won too but would there be any point in handing those trophies to the clubs who came second in league/cups? Isn’t part of winning something about living in “that moment”? Handing a Premier League trophy to Utd, Liverpool or Arsenal would just be about the history books changing because the elation of winning can never be experienced. We saw what it meant to the players, staff and fans back in May and that’s what makes winning so special, not being handed a trophy several years later.
When the name George Graham comes into your mind, what do you think of first? Him as a player, a manager or the man who got sacked because of what he did which earned him the sack? Maybe all three but my point is, mud sticks and as far as Man City are concerned, their reputation is tarnished for life. Anything they do from now on, regardless of whether it’s within the rules, people will wonder if it really is. This isn’t just about £20 in an envelope passing hands, this is about millions and millions of pounds and deceit. Lies, deceit and cheating. 114 times! All football fans should be angry, including, maybe especially Man City fans because they’ve been cheated too.
But I don’t want to see City relegated. No, I’d rather they stayed in the Premier League to face every club and its fans they’ve cheated. Next weekend will be the beginning of humiliating weeks and months ahead because football fans of rival teams will make their point from the stands. In a weird kind of way, I’m looking forward to it.
I know there is an appeal process to go through, but I can’t see every single one of 114 guilty verdicts being overturned, can you? As for their eventual punishment, yes, fine them in a big way and give the money to grassroots football but then I’d like to see them docked points and I mean a lot of points and for the same number of seasons they cheated in. Plus an inward transfer embargo for as many seasons deemed appropriate which in my opinion should again be the number of years they are proved to have broken the rules. That way, City would return to being a mid table club which is the best they were before they were taken over by their current owners.
Who knows, in time, they might find themselves in the Championship or League One but at least then it will because of what they’ve done and probably not with their current kind of squad which will be able to bounce back as quickly. If at all.
International football returns tonight. Two more games left for our players to get through and then domestic football returns. I’m looking forward to it…
Catch up in the comments.
Geoff, I should think that there is an agreement between all parties that the players should not be punished for the crimes of their club owners. Their agents, however are a different matter all together.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan: The Capital Custodian Behind Manchester City
Current Titles:
Vice President of the United Arab Emirates
Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE
Minister of the Presidential Court
Chairman, Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG)
Sheikh Mansour’s influence does not come from public visibility or executive activism. It comes from his position inside one of the world’s most capital-rich sovereign ecosystems, where patience, liquidity, and political alignment converge. He controls access to long-duration capital that can outlast market cycles, regulatory pressure, and public scrutiny—an advantage that has reshaped not only Manchester City, but competitive dynamics across the Premier League itself.
Sheikh Mansour’s leverage is structural, not performative. He does not operate as a CEO accountable to quarterly earnings calls or activist shareholders. His authority flows from proximity to sovereign capital, political continuity, and institutional insulation—conditions rarely available to owners in European football or global business.
Capital Velocity:
Sheikh Mansour operates within Abu Dhabi’s ruling family framework, where capital is deployed through family-controlled vehicles and state-aligned investment arms rather than external limited partners. This grants near-total time arbitrage. Investments can be held indefinitely, recapitalized without dilution pressure, and defended during downturns. In the context of the Premier League, this patience has allowed Manchester City to invest through regulatory cycles and competitive volatility without the financial retrenchment faced by more leveraged rivals.
Platform Dominance:
Through Abu Dhabi United Group, Sheikh Mansour owns Manchester City Football Club, a global sports asset that functions as both a revenue-generating business and a soft-power platform. Competing in the Premier League, the world’s most commercially powerful football competition, amplifies that platform—delivering global broadcast reach, commercial leverage, and enduring brand influence that extends well beyond sport.
Governance Moat:
There is no activist pathway into Sheikh Mansour’s holdings. Governance is secured through royal decree, state alignment, and private ownership. Decision-making authority is centralized, insulated, and largely immune to external shareholder pressure. This governance structure contrasts sharply with publicly listed football clubs and investor-led ownership models common elsewhere in the Premier League, reinforcing the durability of his position.
If City have to hand back all the trophies and the players hand back all their medal, should Haaland also be forced to hand back his golden boot’s awards
Paul,
Regardless of the money poured into East Manchester and how much good it has done for the area. The fact remains that the City ownership are in breach of numerous regulations governing football Clubs.
As to Andy Burnham he needs to remember that he is no longer the mayor of Manchester but is the Prime Minister of Great Britain and should not be concerning himself with such parochial matters however close he is/has been to
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Far be it from me to even suggest that our PM is in the pocket of the above mentioned gentleman.
PSG might find themselves under investigation at some stage Kev if their financial numbers don’t add up.
Thank you Paul.
I agree re the owners and your thoughts on the PL allowing such owners into the English game. I’m not overly keen on Arsenal being owned by Americans but then that’s purely because I believe it should remain in English hands. However, and I admit I was all for it at the time, I’m so glad Usmanov didn’t get his hands on the club as we might have been where your club is now.
What I find sad about the City goings on is that it needn’t have been as it was. If Liverpool and Arsenal could win the league legally, City could have too. Pep’s time at the club will be forever tarnished as will the club itself.
Cicero, I’m with you there. The first penalty should be handed to the owners because remove them from this scenario and the rest doesn’t take place. IMO, they have brought what they can get away with in their own country into the game and they’ve been caught.
Afternoon Kev, Cicero.
It’s just the way they are Kev, selective. We see it each week in the Premier League. I long for the day when officials are all on the same hymn sheet. It’s a shame the same diligence cannot be applied with an investigation into the officials as been applied into City.
“City View”
Not sure how I managed to get on this site, but I should congratulate the writer on this article, which I enjoyed reading if not the subject matter.
The real issue is with the City owners and the City Executive that implemented the owner wishes. If the Premier League wants to avoid lawsuits in the future, and there will some, then they need to remove the City owners, or expel city, or relegate city to the conference, and at the same time improve their own fit and proper tests for ownership. The nature of the new owners, being successful businessmen, states or other people with huge amounts of money, is that they will not tolerate losing off the pitch. Money has no value as they have so much. The premier league have some guilt as they have waved through these owners to provide investment in the league to get the best players to create a brand that the rest of the world wants to buy. Most play by the book, some don’t.
You can suggest points deductions, fines, transfer embargos, taking away titles, some or all of which should happen as well. But none of this resolves the cancer which is the owners.
The sad fact is the owners have done amazing work on East Manchester (see Andy Burnham comment), womens football and academy football, but all of this will be forgotten as fans and players take the full brunt of the ire, rather than the guilty people.
Would criminal investigations and HMRC mean that Etihad Airlines are complicit?
As for the trophies, well an asterisk and an explanation at the bottom of the table will mean the shame will live on for as long as the Premier League is a thing. As for Arsenal, well I don’t want any of City’s diminished honours as they were dishonourably earned.
But the medals should be returned by the players!
G’day Rico,
I’ve seen it suggested that that a series of points deductions, large enough to ensure that could not reach high enough in the Premiership to gain entry into European football, over a period of five seasons, coupled with a five season transfer ban would be appropriate.
There is also the threat of forcing the present ownership to sell Manchester City Football Club as they do not meet the owners and directors standards that all Premiership clubs, including City, signed up to a couple of years ago.
Outside of the football regulators, there could be criminal
charges brought by HMRC for the numerous accounting rules they broke almost on an industrial scale. These charges carry a penalty of jail time for the perpetrators.
Not Rice, but Rico, good post and I agree, a 5 year ban on inward transfers and a points deduction spread over those 5 years, spread out the punishment and the pain.
Yes Rico the abuse and accusations are going to have a debilitating effect on the City players regardless of their protestations of innocence. Liverpool are perfect, the Anfield crowd will vent on City big time. PSG afterwards really is a deep deep irony, especially given how bent PSG are.
Afternoon Gooners, afternoon Rico and yes I agree, I don’t want to see William coming back before he’s 100%, Mosquera should be fit for Leeds as should Rice and White so as long as we avoid anymore disasters during this Interlull we should be fit and firing for Saturday.
Rice, to me that make perfect sense regarding VAR, it also begs the question that VAR can also be selective in what they bring to the officials attention because to me, as an old whistler, what Bernardo perpetrated on Odegaard was bordering on serious foul play, which is a red card. But then he does play for Real Madrid…..
If you know your football Spud, which I’m sure you do, finishing fifth in any other division than the PL, would earn a play-off place, and a chance of promotion.
That’s far too lenient.
Difficult to prove players knew what was going on Geoff, especially if their agents were receiving additional monies. To be honest, it’s a huge can of worms because how far down the line can be proved? More to the point, investigated properly as far as a timeline goes.
Thanks Dennis. Morning to you, Geoff, guys.
I think fairness has to come into the punishment and it wouldn’t be fair on lower league clubs to have City in their leagues as they are right now.
Morning Rico and all,
Rico I agree with taking back all the trophies they won and making the players hand back all there trophies as well, however I would send them back to 3rd division to set a precedent, anything less is a win for them, I believe the only way the owners will care is to make the club worth nothing so they can’t sell it for a big profit, and this way they would have to rebuild from scratch as all the good players will leave and top managers will not go there, we also need to find out what players were also involved and a big suspension of 2 years should apply.
Great post, Rico, and understandably strong words.
What you say makes a lot of sense, I was all for banishing them to the non-leagues.
Whatever their punishment, it has to be meaningful and cut the club so deep it hurts and discourages any club trying the same approach in the future.
It isn’t the players fault, but Pep must have had insider knowledge, given the huge amounts he had to spend every transfer window. The most recent re-build cost fortunes. If City’s reputation is tarnished, Pep’s must be too.
What’s the betting he escapes squeaky clean?
They paid £100m for Jack Grealish, and a year later didn’t want him anymore, so they shelled out for Doku, Savio, and have since added Semenyo and Ndiaye.
Of their players, if there were a fire-sale, I’d take Guehi, Cherki and Haaland (though he’d probably go Real or Barca).
Sadly, no left-wingers that move the needle.
Do you think they’d get promoted back up if they finish fifth?