Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pledged to throw a party on Mallorca if Manchester City are stripped of their Premier League titles and may soon have to come good on that promise.
City have been found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges brought against them in relation to alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations. However, the eight-time Premier League champions continue to deny the charges and are expected to appeal against the ruling.
Even if the guilty verdict is upheld, there is no guarantee City would get stripped of the titles they won between 2009 and 2018, the period to which the charges apply. A number of potential punishments are on the table, with a loss of league titles just one of many possibilities.
Klopp's Mallorca pledge
In January 2025, Klopp - who had just taken over as Red Bull's global head of soccer - was asked how he would respond to City losing their silverware. The German won one league title with Liverpool in 2019/20 but twice finished second behind City - albeit outside that 2009-18 period.
"We had this discussion when I left," he said. "I haven't spent a lot of time in Mallorca (where he moved after leaving Liverpool) because I am always flying around the place."
"But if it would happen, I told all the people who wanted to [come]: 'Just book a flight to Mallorca. I will buy the beer!' We'd have our own parade in my garden."
City's response and appeal
City won three Premier League titles during the 2009-18 period, under three different managers - Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini and Klopp's long-time adversary Pep Guardiola. Liverpool were runners-up under Brendan Rodgers when Pellegrini won City the title on the final day of the 2013/14 season but there is no guarantee that any second-place finisher would be retroactively awarded a title.
"The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality," a Manchester City spokesman said. "As such Manchester City FC's position remains consistent with the club's statement of February 2023.
"The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair minded regulator, free from partisan influence."
Current landscape
While Klopp left Anfield in the summer of 2024, Guardiola stepped away from the Etihad Stadium at the end of last season. The former has now returned to management, leading Germany to a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in his first game in the dugout in more than 800 days.
Guardiola turned down the opportunity to move into international management with Italy. He has been succeeded in Manchester by Enzo Maresca, who has led City to the top of the table with maximum points from five league games.
