Man City told potential date for long-awaited 115 charges verdict ahead of Pep Guardiola's exit

Just as Pep Guardiola leaves the dugout and rolls out the sky blue carpet for Enzo Maresca, the long-awaited verdict for Manchester City's 155 charges appears to be on its way.

City were first accused of the 115 cases of FFP breaches in February 2023, during which time several clubs were accused and penalised.

Referring to the period between 2009 and 2018, in which Manchester City won three Premier League titles, the FFP breaches have loomed over City's accomplishments and chokehold on English football ever since.

Now, with the Pep era set to close after this weekend's final match at the Etihad, marking the end of one of the most dominant periods of all time, new reports suggest that the club will be handed its fate sooner, rather than later.

Manchester City get update on 155 charges verdict date

The hearing for Manchester City's charges, which increased to 130 with over a quarter of them being in relation to not cooperating with the investigation, was held in December 2024, and the court has been deliberating ever since.

According to football finance expert Stefan Borson, the verdict is quickly closing in, and he believes the gavel will bang just after the 2026 Premier League season ends.

"I think it will come as soon as the season finishes, within a reasonable amount of time after the season finishes," he said on the White and Jordan show on talkSPORT.

"Well, I think, June - Early June, I would think, but that’s a guess."

The insinuation is that they will let Guardiola leave before penalising the club.

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He added that there are 'almost no' decisions in British legal history that have taken 18 months to be concluded.

The financial expert also joked that Lord Pannick, the esteemed British barrister in charge of Manchester City's case, doesn't seem to be in a rush to be scouring through the case files, as he instantly pounced on the recent spygate scandal on behalf of Southampton.

"Lord Pannick, who at some point is going to have to read, let’s say, 500 to 800 pages of a decision about 115 (charges), he was busy on Southampton last night," Borson said.

"So he’s clearly got a bit of time in his diary, and therefore you would think he has not got his draft decision yet from the panel, and he still awaits that before he can start reading through that and advising the club on the next steps."

For Manchester City, the ramifications could be huge, and it new boss Enzo Maresca might face a massive uphill battle in his first season in charge.