The fallout from Manchester City’s sweeping guilty verdict could see the club no longer compete in the Premier League, leaving Erling Haaland and Co. in a wildly precarious position.
The Premier League confirmed City were found guilty of breaching the competition’s financial regulations between the 2009–10 and 2017–18 seasons. The club arranged “sham” contracts and agreements to inflate revenue and reduce costs by £900 million ($1.2 billion).
City maintain their innocence and plan to appeal, but another failure in court could see the 10-time English champions hit with massive fines, a point deduction, a transfer ban and even relegation.
The future of City’s biggest stars are now plunged into uncertainty, potentially made worse by contractual oversights. According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, City players do not have relegation clauses in their contracts.
Relegation was “never anywhere near on the agenda” for City, a team that has not finished outside of the top four in 16 years. Plus, the charges against City were reportedly “not discussed in contract negotiations” with new signings or for extensions since the club was confident in a not guilty verdict.
What Such Contract Oversights Mean for City’s Players
A relegation clause in a player’s contract aims to protect the player should their club get demoted. It allows another club to buy the player at a discounted price.
Without such clauses present in the players’ contracts, interested clubs would have to pay full price for a player’s services. There would be little hope of securing a City player’s signature for a cut-price if there’s no contractual obligation for City to lower their transfer fees or release clauses.
A player like Haaland, then, would still be contractually tied to City until his deal expires in 2034, unless another club strikes an agreement to buy the striker, who is valued by Transfermarkt at €220 million ($249.4 million).
Haaland will not be short on suitors, but other players might find it difficult to attract offers without an enticing discounted fee. It could also limit options for City stars, who would only be able to transfer to a team willing to shell out a full asking price.
It could prolong a player’s stay at City as well. Even if they get relegated, players are stuck with the club until a new deal is struck. Without a relegation clause providing the path for a quick exit, players will have to go through proper negotiations before they could potentially return to top-flight soccer.
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City Players Under Heightened Scrutiny
City’s guilty verdict dropping during an international break did little to keep the microscope off Enzo Maresca’s players. Those representing England have a particularly dangerous line to dance around, considering a majority of the Three Lions play in the Premier League.
The pressure is particularly intense on City’s representatives: Marc Guéhi, Nico O’Reilly and Elliot Anderson. But captain Harry Kane is doing his best to keep the noise outside of the England bubble.
“We’ve discussed it amongst ourselves, but at the end of the day, we’re here with England and we put club considerations aside,” Kane told ITV after England’s 3–2 defeat to Spain.
In less than two weeks, though, City players will have to return to domestic action. As if the script writers were planning for this all along, Maresca’s men will take on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, Oct. 11.
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