Manchester City’s likely punishment for breaking the Premier League’s financial rules has been “revealed” by insiders. If it is confirmed, it would be the biggest sanction in English football history.
According to the Daily Mail‘s chief sports writer Oliver Holt, citing sources close to the process, City face a record fine and a points deduction big enough to relegate them to the Championship. The Premier League has not officially confirmed any sanction, and the club is appealing the verdict.
The three-part punishment
According to the report, the most likely sanction has three parts:
- A huge points deduction that would all but guarantee relegation to the Championship.
- A record fine.
- Possibly a further points deduction that would keep City in the Championship for at least one more season. The English Football League (EFL) is not obliged to accept such a penalty, but reportedly would.
The “doomsday scenario” is unlikely
The harshest option, expelling City from the Premier League and making them restart in League Two, is said to be unlikely. Sources told the Mail it would throw both the Premier League and the EFL into chaos. “It would be self-defeating,” one source said. Expulsion would also reportedly need approval from the league’s shareholders, who are said to be wary of the damage it could cause.
Not everyone expects the worst. Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown told talkSPORT he had heard the punishment would be “a lot kinder than some people will have hoped,” adding: “In six weeks or so, we’ll see what’s going to happen.”
Guilty of 114 of 115 charges
In late September, an independent commission found City guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought by the Premier League, covering nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18.
The commission found that City used “sham” sponsorship deals to hide money coming from the club’s Abu Dhabi owners: sponsors paid only part of their fees, and the owners secretly covered the rest. The league says these schemes inflated City’s revenue and cut its costs by more than £900 million. The club was also found guilty of most of the charges of failing to cooperate with the investigation.
City fight back
City deny any wrongdoing. The club lodged an appeal on October 1, saying it is “innocent of the accusations.” It says the commission’s decision contains “clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.” Chief executive Ferran Soriano called the case a “conspiracy theory.”
The appeal hearing must finish by December 24, and a decision is expected around the end of January 2027. The Premier League is reportedly pushing for the punishment to be announced before the appeal is decided.
How big could the deduction be?
No figure has been confirmed. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has suggested 40 to 60 points. For comparison:
- Everton were docked 10 points in 2023, later reduced to six on appeal.
- Nottingham Forest lost four points in 2024.
- City’s 2020 UEFA ban from European football was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which fined the club €10 million instead.
Top of the table, for now
On the pitch, City have been unstoppable. They have won all seven of their Premier League games this season and sit top of the table with 21 points, three ahead of Arsenal. A deduction of 40 points or more would wipe that out and leave them deep in the relegation zone.
Many Nigerian and African fans follow City and their players. They will be watching closely, as this case could reshape English football for years to come. Flashinfong will update this story as soon as the Premier League announces an official decision.
Sources: Daily Mail via Football365 and the Evening Standard, NBC Sports, Al Jazeera.