All eyes will be on Liverpool vs Manchester City, but not because of the impending 90 minutes of Premier League action. Instead, fans are eager to gauge reactions from players, managers and fans on the recent bombshell that City were found guilty on 114 of the 115 financial regulations they were accused of breaching.
The Premier League's announcement sent shockwaves across the footballing world, with several key figures responding. Some who were involved in title races with City have demanded that trophies be rerouted to them, with Manchester United legend Paul Scholes admitting his "greed" for another medal.
UEFA are also monitoring the situation and will wait until the process concludes before taking any action, according to Sky Sports. Plenty of questions remain after City maintained their innocence and lodged an appeal.
So ahead of their first game since the landmark verdict, Mirror Football rounds up all the latest on one of the biggest controversies in English football history.
What have Manchester City been found guilty of?
The situation stems from allegations in 2018 from Der Spiegel. The German media outlet published claims that City had inflated the values of their sponsorship deals to avoid Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules after Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto obtained confidential documents from the club via a phishing email.
UEFA launched an investigation and banned the club from European competition for two years - but this was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). UEFA had already investigated City in 2014, fining them around £49m and reducing their Champions League squad for breaching FFP rules. In 2017, the club received more than half of the fine back after they complied with the rules.
But behind the scenes, the Premier League launched their own investigation which ran for years until they brought their own charges to the table. In February 2023, the Premier League brought forward 115 individual charges of financial breaches against City that spanned nine seasons - from 2009/10 until 2017/18.
In 2024, a private hearing was held before an independent commission to examine all the evidence. Then, things went quiet for almost two years before it emerged last month that City had been found guilty of 114 of the total 115 charges brought against them.
The independent commission found that the club had broken Premier League financial rules by arranging "sham contracts" with various commercial partners. This was part of a scheme to disguise secret funding of more than £830million.
In the report, the commission stated that "a number of important club witnesses gave false evidence in key respects and that some knowingly gave untrue and dishonest evidence."
In total, 115 charges were brought forward and 114 were given a guilty verdict. The rule breaches include:
- 54 charges related to failure to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information from 2009/10 and 2017/18.
- 14 charges of failure to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation from 2009/10 and 2017/18, including Roberto Mancini's contract.
- 7 breaches of Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Regulations from 2015/16 to and including 2017/18.
- 5 charges of failing to comply with UEFA regulations, including UEFA's Club and Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations.
- 35 charges of failing to co-operate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to the present day.
How have City responded?
After the official confirmation, City responded with an emphatic denial of any wrongdoing. In a statement on their website, the club said they were "disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission," claiming that they will be "relentless" in fighting the case.
Two days later, on October 1, City lodged an appeal and continue to maintain their innocence against all charges brought against them. Chief executive Ferran Soriano privately promised the club's staff that they will overturn the guilty verdicts and claimed it was a "Premier League conspiracy theory."
In a leaked video sent to workers, Soriano stated that the entire investigation is based on "a single false accusation" and that he will ensure that City will "finally be vindicated." He said: "We will now be relentless in our work. We will focus on the independent appeal process and also all other legal avenues available to us in order to win the case, and we will take all necessary action to protect the club and seek compensation from any party that tries to damage it now, and in the future."
"I know this can be a bit of a distraction but please remain focused on our business and take care of our extended City family as we always do. Please follow the normal protocols in referring to fan, partner and media enquiries. Very soon we will look back at this and recognise it is another time in our history when we dealt with adversity and overcame it together."
Manager Enzo Maresca broke his silence by insisting the mood around the club is "calm" and that he trusts his chiefs "completely" to handle the legal side while he focuses on the football.
The Italian said: "The feeling is fantastic, to be honest. The players are excited for the next two games. But especially they are excited because in this moment we are top of the league. The players are just focused on that."
"They know what we can control is the football side - they are not worried at all about different things. They know their profession and they know that the noise is there, but they don't care too much about the noise. They are just focused in this moment on how we can beat Liverpool and how, together with the fans, we can try to win in Anfield."
In his pre-match conference on Friday, Maresca was adamant no Premier League title was "tainted" due to the charges as he said: "Absolutely not. The last time I was here was the treble season. I know the effort from the players, from the club, from the manager in that time, that was Pep. So I know exactly the effort that the club put to achieve that kind of target. So I don't have any doubt about that."
The City boss confirmed that he would not discuss the situation further until the outcome of the appeal was known. He added: "I know the organisation from years ago, I know how serious they are, I know they do the right things. I would like to speak about this when we win the appeal."
Erling Haaland has echoed his manager's sentiments on remaining positive despite the charges, urging fans to stick with the team as the case rumbles on. He told Sky Sports: "I care a lot about this place. I spent my first four years here, it's a special place for us. I care a lot about City and the fans. I am a fan myself. I feel with them."
"The fans will have a good time on Sunday - we have to stick together. We have to stay with each other and stay positive. No matter what happens in life, we always have to smile. Stay positive, look ahead, and try to win football games and enjoy the situation."
"We have to stick together and spread the love to each other. Enjoy the ride and smile."
Former manager Pep Guardiola, who plans to attend Wednesday's Champions League clash with PSG at the Etihad, has also reacted to the news, throwing his support behind the club. He said: "I want every single Man City fan to know I am here; more than ever."
"I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, Enzo and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all."
What are the potential punishments?
The potential punishments are explained in section W of the Premier League handbook and cover a wide range of worrying sanctions for City. Anything from a simple formal warning to complete expulsion from the top flight can happen, but the commission decides.
Other punishments include an unlimited fine, points deductions and "any combination of the foregoing or such other penalty as it shall think fit." If they do decide to expel City from the Premier League, all 20 clubs must vote, and it would require at least 15 clubs to agree.
The Athletic reports that there is a desire for City's punishment to cover three areas: financial, sporting and severe consequences for senior boardroom members. An unnamed investor in multiple clubs suggested City pay £1bn to other top-flight sides.
They argued: "Let's say they should put a billion pounds into a pot. Then the Premier League would need to come up with a formula so that the teams who endured the most direct damage receive a greater proportion of the money, which would possibly make those teams whole, or at least be a number they could live with and move on. That way, the Premier League helps to prevent a waterfall of club-on-club lawsuits."
How long will the appeal take?
Two hearings will now take place regarding the appeal and potential sanctions. With City lodging their response on October 1, a new three-person independent panel will be given 12 weeks to review the case and deliver a verdict.
The panel, appointed by High Court judge Sir Gary Hickinbottom, must conclude their findings within the 12 weeks. If they take the entire time, then it would go right up until Christmas, and the panel must deliver the result "within 30 days of the final day of the appeal hearing."
However, the festive period signals a two-week shutdown of the process. The sanctions hearing will reportedly take place in tandem with the appeal to ensure the punishments are imposed as swiftly as possible, but the wait could rumble on until February.
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