Manchester City's most likely punishment if they are found guilty in their 115 charges case, has been revealed by a financial expert.
City were accused of 115 financial breaches back in February 2023 and a hearing took place in September 2024, lasting around 10 weeks.
A three-person Independent Commission panel were enlisted to listen to evidence from both sets of lawyers before releasing an official verdict.
However, nearly a year has passed - with City still awaiting the outcome of the biggest legal case in the history of English football.
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The case has dragged on and City were also involved in a separate legal battle with the Premier League over APT (Associated Party Transaction) rules which saw them achieve some success and resulted in a settlement in September 2025.
But fresh claims suggest that there could be a conclusion to the case in the near future. Miguel Delaney of The Independent claims that there are "growing murmurs" from senior figures that a verdict could be given this month, while financial advisor Stefan Borson believes it is “imminent” and "almost out" - with the next international break a mooted timeframe.
City strenuously deny the charges and have stressed that they are "totally confident" of being exonerated.
Manchester City's 115 charges in full
A full breakdown of the charges laid against City by the Premier League:
- Failure to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information from 2009/10 to and including 2017/18 - 54 alleged breaches
- Failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 - present [February 2023] - 35 alleged breaches
- Failure to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation from 2009/10 to and including 2017/18 - 14 alleged breaches
- Breaches of Premier League profitability and sustainability regulations from 2015/16 to and including 2017/18 - Seven alleged breaches
- Failure to comply with UEFA's regulations, including UEFA's Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations - Five alleged breaches
The exact number of charges totals 130 due to a reporting error upon the initial announcement of the Premier League's case - though the league has declined to comment on this.
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But even with the verdict coming, there will then be a window of appeal from either side to delay proceedings.
Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley explained: “It is tricky to tell on timeframe linked to appeal as it could keep going on and on. It depends on what the verdict is and then what either side would do next, etc., but both parties have the right to appeal, and we have certainly already heard noises from City in the past that they would look to appeal and tie the PL up in litigation.
"These things are never straightforward, and you are dealing with power and egos too in the middle of this, which cannot be ignored.”
He continued: "It was always likely to be a lengthy process given the amount of charges and the time frame it relates to. Lawyers on both sides need to pore over the detail, and then there is the independent commission hearing and the verdict itself. There will then be a further delay until we see the decision and any detail in the public domain, which is again normal in the course of how these things run. It is a very costly exercise on both sides, though that is for sure.”
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Should City be found guilty of breaching rules, it has been suggested that they could face a number of punishments - such as points deductions, fines and even relegation.
Dr Plumley, who has been in the Sport Business industry since 2006, predicts that a points deduction and fine would be the most likely punishment in the event that City are found guilty.
He added: "If City were to be found guilty, then all of those things would potentially be on the table as sanctions, and the PL could push for any or a combination of. It is really difficult to predict what any outcome could be, as there is no precedent.
“We will always be in the realms of speculation until we know, but if I were to speculate, I would suggest that a points deduction and fine would be most likely, with relegation and title stripping being the extreme, but unlikely, scenarios.”
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Though stripping of titles won by City does not appear to be on the cards, it has been mentioned that there could even be complex compensation claims from as many as 29 clubs.
According to a report from law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, some clubs "may ask that the Premier League seeks redress on their behalf in the current arbitration by seeking an order that City pay compensation".
There is precedent of others club trying to sue, with Leeds and Burnley trying to do so when Everton were found guilty of PSR breaches - and the possibility of legal action could chaos for the Premier League.
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To have a case, the claimant club would need to prove "factual causation and legal causation" that they missed out on the opportunity to finish in a higher league position and generated higher revenues had City not allegedly broken rules.
Commenting on the potential action, Dr Plumley stated: "This is an interesting one and a real concern of the PL. We have already seen clubs look to sue other clubs for breach of PSR (Leeds v Everton and Burnley v Everton), and we have also seen some of the big clubs (Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal) threaten to take legal action here depending on the verdict.
“This is the knock-on effect that could take us even further into uncharted territory, and clubs taking other clubs in the courtroom on a more frequent basis is something that I would suggest the PL would be trying to avoid if possible.”
City have continued to operate as normal and recently inked a new £1 billion deal with Puma - said to be the most lucrative sponsorship in British history.
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League
Josh Lawless