Manchester City players and staff have been pictured returning to the club’s training base for the first time since the Premier League confirmed they had been found guilty of gross financial misconduct.
Last week it was revealed that City had been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought against them by an independent commission, relating to widespread breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations and obstructing the investigation.
City maintain their innocence and have appealed the commission’s verdict, but face severe punishment if that appeal is not successful.
Possible sanctions and upcoming fixtures
Sanctions could range from fines and point deductions to transfer bans and expulsion from the Premier League. The club could also be stripped of titles won in the period under investigation, which spans from 2009 to 2018.
In the meantime, the squad has reconvened at the Etihad Campus after three weeks on international duty to prepare for this weekend’s trip to face Liverpool at Anfield.
On Wednesday, the reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain visit the Etihad in the Champions League, a match for which Pep Guardiola will be in attendance.
Players pictured at training ground
Erling Haaland, Elliot Anderson, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Antoine Semenyo and Josko Gvardiol were all pictured arriving at the training ground with their head coach.
Enzo Maresca has yet to issue a statement on the charges facing City, which stand to overshadow the club’s footballing endeavours until a sanction is confirmed.
Former players speak out
Some former players have taken to the press, with one-time captain Kyle Walker telling TalkSport: “Obviously it doesn’t look great.
“At a personal level, we spent many great years celebrating many trophies, and that’s something that, whatever happens, they can’t take away because we’ve experienced them nights.
“We want to be looked upon as winning them trophies the right way. It’s very difficult because we worked very hard for them, and not just us, the fans as well.
“I look at the fans that travelled up and down the country, to Istanbul when we won the Treble, stuff like that — they deserve that night.”
Should City be expelled from the Premier League or relegated after a points deduction, a fire sale of the club’s talent is expected. The summer signings Enzo Fernandez, Bouaddi and Anderson could all find themselves back on the transfer market much sooner than they might have expected.
