Man City players fear relegation after guilty verdict on financial rule breaches

Manchester City players are fearful of points deductions and relegation from the Premier League following the club’s guilty verdict on financial misconduct charges, according to an agent who spoke with French publication L’Equipe.

The Premier League confirmed on Wednesday that an independent commission had found City guilty of all charges brought against them in 2023, covering a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018. The panel also found the club guilty of the majority of charges relating to its failure to co-operate with the league’s investigation.

A statement from the Premier League read: “An independent Commission has found Manchester City FC guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.”

City are expected to appeal the verdict and must exercise that option by Friday, 2 October. Should the appeal fail, however, the club faces a range of potential sanctions. These include fines, transfer embargoes, the stripping of titles won during the period in question, significant points deductions, or in the most severe scenario, relegation from the top flight.

It is the prospect of points deductions and relegation that is causing the most anxiety inside Enzo Maresca’s dressing room, the agent told L’Equipe. The source indicated that players within the squad believe a substantial points deduction would effectively render relegation to the Championship inevitable, even if officials stopped short of demoting the club outright.

All potential punishments remain speculative at this stage, with no sanctions formally imposed while the appeals process is ongoing. The scale and nature of any penalty will ultimately depend on the outcome of that process and the decisions of Premier League officials.