Man City players probe relegation exit clauses as £400k bonuses hang in the balance

Manchester City players have been privately consulting their agents about whether they can exit their contracts if the club is expelled from the Premier League, according to The Times, following the independent commission’s guilty verdict on 114 Premier League rule breaches.

The report states that once the verdict was delivered, players began asking about potential punishments, the implications of losing access to UEFA Champions League football, and whether any contractual escape routes existed in a relegation scenario. The answer, according to the report, is that no relegation clauses are written into players’ contracts — meaning expulsion would force the club into a dramatic cost-cutting exercise and a fire sale of its leading talent.

The financial stakes are significant. City’s top earners are reportedly in line for bonuses of up to £400,000 tied to Champions League success — payments that would be at risk if the club were removed from the top flight and barred from European competition.

City have appealed against the commission’s verdict and maintain their innocence. Potential punishments, should the appeal fail, range from points deductions and title strippings to outright expulsion from the Premier League — a scenario that would make the futures of players such as Erling Haaland deeply uncertain.

Publicly, the club’s hierarchy and manager have presented a united front. Head coach Enzo Maresca, who replaced Pep Guardiola in the summer, said he has no doubts about the organisation and is confident the appeal will succeed.

“The reason why I joined this club is because I completely trust, 100 per cent, the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, the whole organisation,” Maresca said. “I don’t have any doubt about that. There is not another club in the world where I would like to be.”

Maresca added that he intends to address the situation fully only once the appeal is resolved. “I would like to speak about this situation when we are going to win the appeal,” he said. “I completely trust the club in this moment, in the future, always.”

When asked whether he would follow Guardiola’s famous pledge to manage City in League One if they were relegated, Maresca was measured. “I won the Championship with Leicester,” he said. “So in case of League One, we are going to see — but we are thinking about something that we don’t know. What happens if we win the appeal? I don’t know.”

The appeal process means no immediate punishment is in place, but the uncertainty continues to hang over the club as they prepare for upcoming Premier League fixtures.