On Friday UEFA announced that Manchester City would be banned from playing in any UEFA club competition. This includes the Champions League for the next two seasons and City was fined £24.9m. It is believed that City breached its Financial Fair Play Regulations and Club Licensing Regulations. The club owners are expected to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
”The European football governing body launched an investigation after German newspaper Der Spiegel published leaked documents in November 2018 alleging City had inflated the value of a sponsorship deal, misleading European football’s governing body.”
New information circulating suggests Manchester City could possibly be stripped of their Premier League title won back in 2014. This comes after they were banned from Champions League after breaching Financial Fair Play [FFP] rules.
Many now believe Pep Guardiola will leave Etihad after the recent announcement. This comes days after Guardiola came out to express his fears of being sacked if Manchester City fails to beat Real Madrid in the Champions League. This has now lead to wide speculation that the Spaniard manager may leave Etihad at the end of the season if the ban is not overturned. The former Barcelona manager joined City in 2016, and his current contract is set to expire in 2021.
Manchester City has now been linked to former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino as the lead candidate to take over at City if Guardiola leaves in the summer. Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers and RB Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann are also been linked to the job. The club is reportedly looking to sell players with the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Aymeric Laporte on top of the list.
But they could lose something more valuable with their 2104 under threat. City beat Liverpool to quench their second Premier League title by just two points. Due to the backdated points deduction, they may be forced to embarrassingly return their title. The investigation will reportedly look into the club between 2012 to 2016 period.
Manchester City will host West Ham at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday when the Premier League returns from the winter break. With many believing the recent news may affect the player’s performance on Sunday.
