Manchester City scandal explained

Inside the biggest scandal in soccer

By Nic Longstreet

In 2023, English Premier League giant, Manchester City, had 115 charges of breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules over the seasons of 2009 to 2018. They were found guilty of 114 of the charges. 

The FFP rules are in place to make sure clubs don’t spend more than they earn. Not only has Man City violated the Premier League’s financial rules, but they also broke the Union of European Footballing Associations (UEFA) rules. UEFA is a much larger governing body; they handle inter-league affairs and tournaments in Europe. The estimated amount City overspent has totaled to over 900 million euros, which is a little over a billion dollars. 

The Premier league hasn’t announced what the punishment will be. However, in late 2023 fellow Premier League club Everton was penalized for the same thing. Their punishment was a 10-point deduction in the league. The big difference between them and Man City was that Everton’s breach of the rules only totaled to £19.5 million. Man City has spent more than double that number. Various pundits and players have thrown around different potential punishments that may come around. Manchester City may be stripped of their three Premier League titles won in the period of time being investigated. They might also be relegated from the topflight into a lower division. In the most extreme scenario, Manchester City would cease to exist. 

Despite this, the Manchester City board have vehemently denied any wrongdoing and will likely fight the charges. City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak famously stated in a leaked internal email that he would “rather spend £30m on the 50 best lawyers and sue UEFA for 10 years” over accepting any wrongdoing and penalty for breaking FFP rules. 

Former manager of Man City, Pep Guardiola, posted on Instagram that he is present more than ever and let fans know that they will get through this together, despite his departure this summer. 

And how do the fans feel? Well between X and Instagram, it has been a nonstop whirlwind of memes and jokes on what will happen to Man City. Various reaction images utilizing streamer ishowspeed on a red carpet or different scenes and moments in pop culture have been tweeted and posted. 

Regardless of the result, this is bound to shake up the soccer world. It  would have an effect on the legacy of Manchester City as a club, and its players, past, present and future. There will always be doubt over the club’s success and suspicion over their financial movements from here on out.