Premier League clubs back City expulsion if appeal fails, sources say

Premier League clubs broadly expect Manchester City to be removed from the top flight next season if the club’s appeal against a landmark financial misconduct verdict is unsuccessful, according to reports.

An independent commission found City guilty of 114 of 115 charges brought against them, ruling that the club used ‘sham’ contracts to disguise more than £830 million in funding over a nine-year period. City have consistently denied any wrongdoing and have launched a formal appeal against the verdict.

The apparent consensus among fellow Premier League clubs is that the rules must apply equally regardless of a club’s size or status. Many are said to believe a points deduction would be inadequate if it resulted in City spending only one season outside the division — a punishment they consider disproportionately light for alleged breaches spanning nearly a decade.

Expulsion from the Premier League is one of the sanctions on the table, though it would require a vote in favour from at least 15 clubs. Other potential punishments include a transfer embargo, a points deduction, or a financial penalty.

Not all clubs are aligned on the harshest outcome, however. Some reportedly fear that removing City from the top flight could inadvertently strengthen the case for a European Super League, given that City were actually the first club to formally begin withdrawing from that project in April 2021 following widespread supporter backlash. Separately, some clubs are said to believe the Premier League is commercially stronger with City in it and that their absence could damage the competition’s global reputation.

City, for their part, maintain they have ‘irrefutable evidence’ that the deals in question were legitimate and funded directly by the Abu Dhabi government rather than by their owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group. The Premier League does permit state-owned entities to sponsor clubs, an argument that is expected to form a central plank of City’s appeal as they seek to demonstrate that no illegitimate sponsorship agreements were manufactured.