While Manchester City are preparing to appeal the guilty verdict handed down to them over major financial breaches, reports suggest Manchester United and other Premier League rivals are looking to pile on the misery.
Friday brought the news that City had been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges against them relating to financial misconduct between 2009 and 2018 and repeated failure to cooperate with the investigation. The potential punishments could include any combination of fines, point deductions and, in the most serious case, expulsion from the league.
No santions have been handed out just yet, with City understood to be preparing an appeal, but they are now facing a fresh headache as The Athletic state cross-town rivals United are looking into the impact of City’s conduct on their own fortunes.
Based on the working assumption that City’s success over the nine years in question was unfairly gained, United are evaluating just how seriously their own finances were impacted by City’s conduct.
Among the incidents in United’s thinking is the outcome of the 2011–12 Premier League title race, which was decided in City’s favor thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Sergio Agüero on the final day of the season. Goal difference also saw United lose out to City in the race for Champions League qualification in 2015–16.
The 2020–21 season, which is outside the period of alleged misconduct but clearly still carried the consequences of any such activity in earlier seasons, saw United finish second to City in the title race.
What Can Man Utd Expect From Man City’s Case?
Should City’s guilty verdict be upheld, clubs could be entitled to file claims for compensation against the Cityzens.
While this has never happened at the top end of the Premier League, we did see a similar situation in the relegation zone over the past few years relating to Everton’s breaches of Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) over the three-year periods leading up to 2021–22 and 2022–23.
Burnley, who were relegated in 2021–22 after finishing four points behind Everton, sought compensation for the financial impact of relegation and, in June, were awarded £35 million ($46 million) in damages and interest. Everton have appealed the ruling.
Clearly, there are obvious similarities between Burnley’s case and anything that could come from United or other Premier League sides that claim to have been wronged by City, although they would have to prove a genuine negative consequence.
With City’s appeal expected to lead to another lengthy legal process, United are unlikely to take any action in this regard for a while, but club officials are understood to be working behind the scenes to prepare themselves for any formal guilty verdict against the Cityzens.
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