My buddy Marc Leder and I were absolutely stunned today when we read the news that Manchester City have been punished by UEFA for breaching financial fair play rules. The initial punishment for Man City is that they will have to pay a €30 million fine and that they will be banned from the Champions League for 2 years. This is a monumental decision that UEFA have taken, and one that we have never seen before. Manchester City are going to appear this punishment of course, but Marc and I have been chatting all day about what this could mean for the Manchester outfit, if everything stays the same.
Players and Managers
There is a very real possibility that with no Champions League on offer that Pep Guardiola may go elsewhere, after all this is what he was brought in to deliver for City, and he may easily have his head turned. The same goes for some of the players, especially those who are a little older, who don’t want to wait 3 years before they play in the world’s best club tournament again. Finally we may see Manchester City struggle to attract the world’s best players, although they can pay more than anyone in the world, players who want success over money will not be deciding on Manchester City as their club of choice.
Premier League
These findings by UEFA could also very easily see Manchester City get punished at home as well, and the Premier League will be keeping a watchful eye on the situation. Manchester City’s titles could easily be stripped away from them if they have been found to have won them illegally, they could also have points deducted from this season’s games or in the absolute worst case scenario and if the Premier League really want to throw the book at them, City could be sent down to league 2 where they would have to start all over again.
Sponsors
Most of the Manchester City sponsors are group partnerships between the owners of the club and their family and friends, which of course is a large part of the issue here, but the other sponsors may very well wish to pull their money out, as thrywon’t want to be represented by a club that has been found to have cheated. If this happens then City won’t exactly have financial issues, but they could very well have issues attracting sponsors in the future.
The absolute worst case scenario for City is that they do get relegated by way of punishment, lose the players and then the owners sell up having been wronged by both UEFA and the Premier League. All of this talk is of course speculation at the moment and until we know what happens with the appeal, it is too early to really say what could potentially happen to the club who’s sharp rise has amazed so many.
