A huge week, both on and off the pitch, has begun for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola. Alongside their opening Champions League fixture of the 2024/25 season followed by a clash against Arsenal this weekend, the reigning champions face a battle to prove their innocence against the Premier League for the financial charges levelled against them.
Guardiola’s side have made a blistering start to the season but focus will now swiftly turn onto matters elsewhere. The hearing to determine an outcome of the charges has started today (Monday, September 17) with the case likely to be ongoing throughout October and November.
City are alleged to have breached financial rules spread across a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018. Ever since the charges were levelled against them back in February 2023, City have continually persisted they are innocent of any wrongdoing and they will now have the chance to prove it.
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Previous punishment for financial breaches has seen clubs deducted points, however that is unlikely to be the case here if City are found guilty. In fact the punishments could be extremely severe given how Everton have been docked a total of eight points for just two breaches of profit and sustainability rules.
As such, if the hearing goes a certain way, City could be looking at expulsion from the Premier League alongside a transfer embargo and the stripping of titles. With so many charges lobbied against, the case could take up to 10 weeks with a final verdict, if there is one, unlikely to arrive until 2025.
While many are aware of the charges against Man City, there is some confusion surrounding how many individual breaches they are alleged to have made. 115 has become the figure synonymous with the case, but City are actually facing an additional 15 and therefore a total of 130.
It is worth noting these are not new charges with The Times claiming the discrepancy has come about through an error with the Premier League’s reporting process at the time. The confusion is said to have stemmed from some of the rules listed in relation to particular seasons and thus the official figure has been corrected by the Premier League.
