Manchester City
Manchester City financial case: timeline, allegations and potential penalties
Summary of the Premier League’s charges, hearing progress and possible sanctions against City. 2026.
Manchester City’s rise from Premier League underachievers to one of the most dominant forces in world soccer and champions of Europe has been accompanied by a long-running regulatory dispute. After a four-year inquiry, the Premier League brought formal charges in February 2023 alleging 115 breaches of its financial rules, a figure reported in some accounts as high as 134 depending on categorization.
At issue is the Premier League’s claim that the club breached Profit and Sustainability Rules by disguising owner funding as sponsorship revenue and failing to disclose certain payments to players and managers. The alleged breaches relate to activity between 2009 and 2018, a spell in which City won three Premier League titles.
A private, in-person hearing before an independent three-member commission opened on Sep. 16, 2024, and closed on Dec. 6 after nearly three months of evidence and submissions. The panel has been deliberating since and so far there has been no published outcome. The Premier League has declined to comment, while City say there is a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” supporting their position.
Observers point to the complexity and volume of material under review and to the part-time nature of the commissioners as possible reasons for delay. The Premier League operates without a strict deadline for resolving historic cases, which allows it to pursue alleged breaches dating back to 2009. Pep Guardiola said in February 2025 that a decision could arrive within “one month,” but no ruling followed.
Premier League chief Richard Masters said at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London in February 2026, per BBC Sport: “I simply can’t comment. Having spent three years not commenting, I’m not going to start now. More broadly, any regulator wants its judicial system to be efficient and work quickly—that’s as far as I can go.”
If guilt is found, sanctions under the rules range from fines to points deductions or, in the most extreme cases, expulsion. Recent, smaller-scale examples include two- and four-point deductions for Everton and Nottingham Forest. Soccer finance expert Kieran Maguire suggested a much larger penalty could follow if the most serious allegations are proven: “The Premier League cannot relegate Manchester City to League One or League Two because that is an EFL decision,” Maguire said on The Overlap. “Therefore, it has to be a points deduction.” He added: “The numbers involved are likely to be significant. If you look at previous cases, you’d probably have to add a zero—so somewhere between a 40- and 60-point deduction would be consistent.” Once a verdict is issued, both parties have 14 days to lodge an appeal.
Manchester City
Manchester City agree in principle to extend Phil Foden despite dip in form
City have agreed in principle to extend Phil Foden’s contract despite his recent dip in form. summer
Manchester City have reached an understanding with Phil Foden on a new long-term deal, with the England international said to have “agreed in principle” to a contract that will keep him at the Etihad beyond his 30th birthday. The club and player remain aligned and are expected to finalise terms “in due course.”
The negotiations represent a notable shift in representation for the 25-year-old, who had been handled by his family through his career. These talks, however, were led by Rafaela Pimenta, the Brazilian lawyer who also manages teammate Erling Haaland after inheriting the late Mino Raiola’s stable in 2022.
Foden’s connection to City is long established. Scouted at four, the Stockport-born player received private education funded by the club and progressed through the academy to make his first-team debut aged 17 in 2017. He has since made more than 350 senior appearances and emerged as a key figure from 2020 during a period of sustained success for City.
That peak arrived in 2023–24, when Foden completed a clean sweep of England’s major individual honours: PFA Players’ Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season. A difficult Euro 2024 with England followed, and Foden acknowledged mental and physical issues last May that undermined his 2024–25 season. This campaign has not matched his best form.
A prolific spell across four Premier League matches from late November to mid-December produced six goals and one assist, but he has not scored since and has struggled for regular starts. Since a halftime withdrawal against Manchester United on Jan. 17, Foden has started only two of City’s last 12 Premier League fixtures, been an unused substitute in three and played five minutes or less in three others. He was also left on the bench in both legs of the Champions League round of 16 with Real Madrid.
Versatility has both helped and hampered him; during his winter run he operated on the left, right and as a No. 10 and has since found competition for places intense. With Jérémy Doku back on the left, Antoine Semenyo established on the right after arriving in January and Rayan Cherki providing spark through the middle, his role has been limited. The March international break highlighted England manager Thomas Tuchel’s ongoing search for solutions, a situation that could leave openings for Foden in the summer.
After Euro 2024, he said, “The position I was put in on the left was very difficult to influence the game,” he told the Manchester Evening News.
Manchester City
Guardiola reaffirmes commitment as City prepare for final push
Guardiola says he still boasts “incredible energy” and will honour his contract as City chase titles
Deep into his 10th season as Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has publicly resisted talk of an imminent departure while preparing his side for the closing stages of the campaign. City have already secured the Carabao Cup at the expense of Arsenal and still face an FA Cup final, milestones that have framed much of the recent speculation.
Guardiola sought to deflect questions about his future by pointing to the environment around him. “I wouldn’t be 10 years [here]—even with good titles—if I didn’t have this incredible environment,” Guardiola gushed at the start of May. “I still have incredible energy, still I’m so good, coming here to work on my days off.
“Of course we’re here because we won a lot—and that’s why they don’t fire you, because they continue to trust you—but apart from that, the club is really, really extraordinary. The people take care of all of us in all details. The little details mean my job as a manager and the players, is to just think about what you have to do.
“It’s like a bubble that makes people feel good. It’s a big club, but here it is a family.”
On the contractual question, Guardiola reiterated a straightforward position. “I have a contract,” the Catalan coach sighed when quizzed on the subject once again in January. “I said a thousand million times. It’s 10 years here. I will leave one day, but I have a contract.”
The club structure that helped persuade Guardiola to arrive in 2016 is part of the backstory. Ferran Soriano was installed as a City executive in 2012, and one month later he hired Guardiola’s former Barcelona teammate Txiki Begiristain as sporting director, laying groundwork for the appointment.
Guardiola has also pointed to testimony from former players, citing Aymeric Laporte: “City is the best club in the world and you never realize how good they are, how incredibly organized, until you leave.” He recalled Ilkay Gündogan returning from Barcelona and calling Manchester City “top-top.”
Despite the coach’s public tone and an on-paper commitment, outlets including ESPN have reported that a change of mind after the season would not surprise many. Should Guardiola deliver a domestic treble, few would begrudge the 55-year-old departing at the peak of a transformational decade.
Manchester City
Guardiola Explains Choosing Stockport Over Champions League Classic
Guardiola watched Stockport v Port Vale instead of PSG v Bayern calling the clash ‘a disaster game.’
Pep Guardiola’s presence at Edgeley Park on Tuesday — watching Stockport County take on Port Vale in League One — raised more than a few eyebrows. His decision to sit in the stands coincided with the Champions League semifinal first leg at Parc des Princes between Paris Saint Germain and Bayern Munich, a 5–4 contest that left PSG with a slight advantage.
Guardiola addressed his choice on Friday with a line that undercut the spectacle for many viewers. “The day before, I saw the calendar and the game PSG versus Bayern Munich, and I said ‘Bleh! What a disaster game,’” Guardiola told reporters with a sarcastic smirk. “Managers are not good, [PSG’s] Luis [Enrique] and [Bayern’s] Vincent [Kompany]. Really, really s— players.”
The comments carried extra weight because of Guardiola’s personal connections to both figures he mentioned. Guardiola and Enrique share a deep, long-standing friendship, having played together for Barcelona from 1996–2001. Kompany is also part of Guardiola’s professional history; he served as a player and captain under Guardiola at City between 2016 and 2019, a period that produced six trophies. Kompany has been outspoken about his respect and admiration for Guardiola’s coaching style, even naming him as “the best coach I ever had.”
City’s schedule helps explain Guardiola’s availability. Manchester City had the week off after being eliminated from the Champions League last month and are not back in Premier League action until Monday, when they face Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium. That gap allowed Guardiola to attend a lower-league fixture in person, even as the continent watched a high-scoring European tie unfold.
Whether viewed as an amusing lark or a pointed dismissal of a headline fixture, Guardiola’s explanation and the context around his outing ensured the episode dominated conversation through the week.
