(Football news) Having recently won their third consecutive Premier League trophy for the first time in their history, Manchester City now shift their attention to the FA Cup and Champions League final. Only one club has managed to achieve the historic treble, their bitter rivals Manchester United, who accomplished the impossible against all odds in 1999. However, the mood around the Etihad Stadium and around the world simply doesn’t have the same admiration for Manchester City as they did for Manchester United back in the day.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been utterly ruthless in recent months, not losing a single game in any competition since February 6th. However, that was also around the same time that they were hit with more than 100 charges of financial wrongdoing by the Premier League, who have cast a cloud over City’s potentially most successful season in their history. The club has been lavishly backed by the Abu Dhabi ruling family, bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2008. Since then, City have been no strangers to controversy, not just from the Premier League but from UEFA as well.
Naturally, questions have been raised about whether City’s greatest team has been built over years of cheating. The club have been accused of providing misleading information regarding it’s finances from 2009-2018, a timeframe where they have enjoyed unparalleled dominance in English football and signing some of the best players in the world such as Sergio Aguero, Kevin de Bruyne and Yaya Toure.
The Premier League has filed these charges after a four year investigation and publication of leaked emails and documents by German magazine Der Spiegel. According to the documents, there has been an alleged cover up to comply with UEFA and the Premier League’s Financial Fair PLay regulations, which is meant to monitor revenue and spending of the clubs and ensure a level playing field. If found guilty, City could face points deduction or even expulsion from the Premier League.
The club already had a two year ban from European competitions overturned in 2020 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after UEFA found “serious breaches” of financial rules from 2012 to 2016. The CAS fined Manchester City 10 million euros for failing to cooperate with UEFA investigators. However, the accusations from the Premier League appear to be more serious, with 80 alleged financial breaches and potentially 30 more related to their failure to cooperate with the investigation.
It would be in the interest of all parties for this matter to be concluded after due investigation once and for all. Despite City’s claims that they are innocent, the club are delaying the investigation and a resolution to the issue, which raises question marks about their claims. Until City are proved to be innocent, their achievements will have a question mark about them and for all their dominance, they will remain in the shadow of their rivals’ 1999 accomplishment.
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