Citizens to Be Blocked From Europe

Manchester City have been a footballing powerhouse in England ever since the Abu Dhabi United Group, owned by billionaire Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, purchased the club in 2008. “The Citizens” have won eight of a possible nine trophies in English football since current manager Pep Guardiola led them to victory in the Carabao Cup in 2018. They have set records in the English Premier League for most points in a season, most wins in a season, most goals scored in a season, most consecutive wins, and more. Despite outshining all other teams on the domestic stage, the one competition that has eluded Manchester City is the UEFA Champions League. Now they may be forced to wait even longer to finally win Europe’s most prestigious club competition, as they have been dealt a two-year ban from UEFA competitions.

The two-year ban and a €30 million fine have been placed upon Manchester City for breaches to Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. The case was first brought up by the German newspaper Spiegel International in 2018. They alleged that the Abu Dhabi United Group was giving money to Manchester City’s sponsors, which eventually gave it to Manchester City. The club was falsely reporting how much money they were earning from sponsors, as most of the money was actually coming from the club’s owners, which does not adhere to FFP rules. Along with being found guilty of the aforementioned charge, Manchester City breached regulations by not cooperating in the case investigation of Club Financial Control Body (CFCB). The club released a statement regarding the ban which said, “Manchester City is disappointed but not surprised by today’s announcement by the UEFA Adjudicatory Chamber […] in December 2018, the UEFA Chief Investigator publicly previewed the outcome and sanction he intended to be delivered to Manchester City, before any investigation had even begun. The subsequent flawed and consistently leaked UEFA process he oversaw has meant that there was little doubt in the result that he would deliver.”

Manchester City now faces the possibility of losing some of their finest players and manager, as they may seek to play for another team with a possibility of winning Europe’s premier club competition. Though Guardiola has been touted to leave for another team, he has alleviated fears that he would do so through recent comments. Guardiola told Match of the Day, “If they don't sack me, I will be here. I love this club. I like to be here. This is my club, and I will be here, no matter.”

Center back Aymeric Laporte shut down rumors of players leaving the club this summer, saying, “We are professionals, a big team with big personalities in the dressing room, and I think we just think about football, nothing else.”

Raheem Sterling, who has been rumored to want to join Real Madrid, has also confirmed his allegiance to Manchester City. His agent, Aidy Ward explained, “[Sterling] is solely focused on Manchester City and will not be distracted by any talk of transfers to any club at the moment.” Until this summer, when the transfer window opens, it will not be known whether these quotes are just to halt internal turmoil as the season nears its climax or whether the players will genuinely see out another two years without the Champions League.

Even now, after charged with serious breaches of FFP rules, Manchester City have two alternative ways they could still get their hands on the Champions League trophy. First, the ban does not set in until the 2021/2021 season, so they could still win the competition this year. Currently, they are in the Round of 16 against Real Madrid, the club with the most triumphs in Champions League history. Though Manchester City won the first leg away against Real Madrid by a margin of two goals to one, the second leg was postponed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. At the moment, it is unclear whether this year’s edition of the Champions League will be continued. Manchester City still have a chance to appeal the ban to the Court of Attribution of Sport, which they intend to do according to the official statement they released.

Only time will tell if Manchester City will be forced to see through a full two-year ban and pay the hefty €30 million fine placed on them. In the meantime, this ban can only be seen as even more of an incentive to finally bring the Champions League trophy back to Manchester this year if the competition persists.