Neville demands City lose titles, points and owners over 114-charge breach

Gary Neville has demanded Manchester City be stripped of their titles, hit with a multi-year points deduction and forced to change ownership after an independent commission found the club in breach of 114 Premier League financial rules — a verdict City have appealed.

Speaking on the Overlap Daily, the former Manchester United defender and Sky Sports pundit laid out the most severe set of consequences yet proposed by a prominent figure in English football. “I think the owners should go, the titles should be stripped for the relevant period, and there should be a multi-year points punishment,” Neville said.

Neville acknowledged the economic weight of any ownership change, noting that the consequences for the club, the city and east Manchester would be “enormous” — but insisted that context should not soften the punishment. “The owners and executives are going to struggle to remain in place if the same test that I have to follow as a director and owner is applied consistently,” he added.

He stopped short of calling for relegation to the lower leagues. “I’m not particularly fixated on relegating Manchester City to League One or League Two. I want the club to return to the Premier League,” he said, referencing a conversation with a City supporter who told him fans planned to wear retro kits on Sunday as a show of loyalty to the club’s pre-takeover identity.

City currently sit top of the Premier League unbeaten, and face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday. Club CEO Ferran Soriano has indicated the full legal process has a long way to run, raising the prospect that no verdict will arrive before the end of the season — a scenario Neville described as a nightmare for the sport.

“It will be very difficult for everybody in football to watch Manchester City win the league this year,” he said. “Psychologically, it would be a huge problem for the game. I don’t think the Premier League can let this run until the end of the season. If Manchester City are lifting the Premier League trophy in May without a verdict being given, there will be absolute uproar. The case must be dealt with by February or March.”

The sanctions process has already begun following the findings released by the Premier League in late September. A fine and transfer ban are widely considered likely outcomes if City’s appeal fails, though Neville’s demands go considerably further than those baseline penalties. City have maintained their innocence throughout.