Is the Man City controversy the biggest story in Premier League history?

Paul Fennessy

WHAT LINKS MANCHESTER City and the eminent English author Charles Dickens?

The title of the latter’s novel, ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, seems appropriate to the drama involving the Etihad outfit.

In this case, at least a perception of two Cities now exists.

The relentless, winning machine that consistently acquired best-in-class personnel both on and off the field.

City had long been considered a minor character, both literally and figuratively relegated to the periphery in the early days of the Premier League.

Growing up, football fans often joked about the two best teams in Manchester: Manchester United and Manchester United reserves.

But since 1 September 2008, when the club became majority-owned by Sheikh Mansour, it has transformed into one of Europe’s most formidable teams.

Thanks to the vast riches of the current vice president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, combined with the hiring of multiple astute decision-makers and exceptional footballers, City have secured eight of the last 15 Premier League titles. Before then, they won the English top flight just twice in the competition’s history.

It is the type of situation many fans of a struggling football club dream of: promptly going from virtual irrelevance to one of the most feared teams in the land.

But those same supporters may now be questioning whether this success came at too high a cost as a new narrative emerges.

An independent commission has found City guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18.

The club have insisted on their innocence and that “nothing has changed”.

Others have been less upbeat. City’s former chairman David Bernstein has said they should be expelled from the Premier League if their appeal fails.

Lisa Nandy, British government culture, media and sport secretary, also acknowledged relegation could not be ruled out in that scenario.

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The club’s detractors have labelled them ‘Sham City’ – the word ‘sham’ is used eight times in the recently-released 40-page document explaining the verdict.

Even if they avoid punishment on appeal or a technicality, the reputational damage has been seismic.

Instead of a near-flawless, unstoppable enterprise synonymous with victory, they are now widely perceived as ‘cheats’ whose entire post-2008 success was ostensibly fraudulent.

Those who have made themselves legends of the club over the past two decades – Roberto Mancini, Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, Pep Guardiola, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Erling Haaland among others – have all seen their achievements tainted by this extraordinary development.

Other English sides will understandably be furious that they have suffered to varying degrees from City’s perceived persistent rule-breaking.

Man United and Liverpool both finished second behind the Citizens on three occasions, while Arsenal were their nearest challengers twice.

Even if those clubs are retrospectively awarded the titles in question, they have missed out on the joy of instant success. Special memories have been stolen. They have been victims of the Machiavellian behaviour their rivals are alleged to have employed and the lax Premier League regulation that allowed it to go unpunished for decades.

But that brings us to the second Charles Dickens comparison.

In his 1852 novel ‘Bleak House,’ one plot line involves a long-running lawsuit that is never explained because nobody remembers what originally prompted it.

Though satirical, Dickens suggested in the book’s preface that the idea was inspired by real-life examples, one of which was likely Thellusson v Woodford – a case in which a will originally read in 1797 was not fully resolved until 1859. 

Though not everyone in judicial circles appreciated Dickens’s satire, it has been argued that ‘Bleak House’ influenced legal reform enacted in the 1870s.

At times, the City charges feel like one of these nightmarish, endless 19th-century legal dramas.

“I’d rather have a bit of a laugh about it,” José Mourinho said of the City case this week.

“Being in my 60s, I’ll have to be lucky enough still to be here when the final verdict arrives.

“Now a ruling will come, then an appeal… I’ll be 80.”

These comments reflect a broad sense of fatigue on this topic.

The leaked club emails that instigated this controversy surfaced almost eight years ago.

An initial Uefa investigation that concluded in February 2020 found City guilty of “serious breaches of the Uefa Financial Fair Play Regulations by overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to Uefa between 2012 and 2016″.

The original punishment was a two-year ban from the Champions League. 

But City’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) successfully overturned the verdict in July 2020.

The Premier League investigation began in February 2023.

While the guilty verdict has only become widely apparent in recent weeks, ESPN reported that Man City were informed of the ruling during the summer.

So much uncertainty exists that many others share Mourinho’s pessimism.

Some critics have suggested this is the biggest story in the Premier League’s history.

But so much of the current analysis feels speculative.

It is difficult to ascertain when the sanctions City are expected to face will be announced or how long the appeal process will take.

The fact that the club’s hierarchy are doubling down suggests any sense of closure in this saga remains a long way off.

Even as more damning revelations emerge, to quote the legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman, nobody knows anything.