The long-awaited hearing into the 115 charges levelled against Manchester City is getting underway on Monday . The implications of the outcome are guaranteed to be seismic for the Premier League , whatever they happen to be, innocent or guilty.
City has won six of the last seven league titles. It became the first club to win the English top flight for four successive seasons in 2023/24 and is expected by bookmakers to extend that run to five in a row next May. Yet that unparalleled success might be rendered a sham if the club is found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules over a nine-year period which began in 2009 .
While we now know that the hearing will begin imminently, there will not be a swift resolution. Sky Sports has projected that the ruling may not be revealed until spring, and the process could be prolonged further if City is found guilty as it will have a right to appeal the verdict. But what are the implications from the potential punishments from a Liverpool perspective?
After all, if City is deemed to have cheated, the Reds will have more reason than any other club to feel aggrieved. The Reds finished second by one point behind Pep Guardiola ’s side in 2018/29 and 2021/22. Other teams have been runners up in recent years but not by so narrow a margin. Here’s a look at the three likeliest punishments if a guilty verdict is passed and how they would affect Liverpool.
A fine
This would be the outcome likeliest to bring the whole sorry saga to the swiftest possible conclusion. Given the money at its disposal, its reasonable to assume that City would simply pay its bill and move on. Assuming this would have no impact upon the finances of the club and how it would be run, this would make no difference to the Reds.
Points deduction
To many, this would be the obvious punishment. Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked eight and four points in total respectively last season after breaching profit and sustainability rules. Based on odds offered by bookmakers in spread markets, City are currently predicted to get around 88 points this season with Liverpool eight behind them.
While there is Arsenal in between them (on 82), the Reds’ chances of winning the title in 2024/25 would undoubtedly improve if the defending champions suffered a points deduction. Based on the size of punishments seen in the past, City could be taken out of the race entirely.
Relegation
The big one, the most severe punishment. This would obviously improve Liverpool’s hopes of winning the title both this season and next, for starters.
But it would have a wider impact. City’s star players are unlikely to want to spend a season outside the Champions League, much less embrace slumming it in the Championship for 46 games. A full on fire sale might feel unlikely but their squad would likely be decimated, while Guardiola would be far less likely to renew his contract too.
Everyone connected with Liverpool will be following proceedings with great interest. The outcome could shake up the whole football world though.
Local News
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