By Sergio Silva
Aug 16, 2024, 9:11 PM EDT
The 2024-2025 season started off quite busy for the Manchester City after it was reported on Friday that Pep Guardiola’s team could receive a historic punishment amid the investigation into their alleged breach of Financial Fair Play.
The Citizens, who play their opening game of the English league on Sunday against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, are under investigation on 115 charges that would practically condemn them to relegation if found guilty.
And according to reports from TuttoSport and The Athletic in the highest echelons of the Premier League There is already talk of a possible punishment for the current champion of the English tournament, who would receive a penalty of between 70 and 80 points, a punishment unprecedented so far in the championship.
“The collective view I have heard is that an appropriate sanction should be a points deduction as substantial, 70-80 points, as to guarantee City a season in the Championship.”indicates a note published by the sports portal The Athletic.
At the same time, there is speculation that the sanction could be handed down sooner than expected, as initially it was said that a hypothetical sentence would not be known until 2025. However, it could be brought forward to this season.
A punishment of this magnitude would leave City on the ropes and with a ticket to the Championship (second division) almost assured, since to avoid it they would have to have a historic performance by breaking the record of 100 points in the season and thus have the possibility of trying to avoid relegation.
The same reports also mention that there is a possibility that the punishment could directly imply losing their category. However, for any of these scenarios to take place, the investigations against the Manchester team must first be concluded.
The FA has already imposed a penalty for breaching Financial Fair Play recently, albeit on a much smaller scale when Everton were punished with a 10-point deduction for failing to comply. But in the case of Manchester City things could be much more severe.
Under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City have established a strong dominance in the Premier League, winning the last four seasons in a row. The team owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates has spent more than $1.5 billion on transfers in recent years.
For this reason, the English football authorities are reportedly carrying out an investigation to determine whether the team has incurred in Financial Fair Play and could be in serious trouble if found guilty.
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