Manchester City\u2019s long-running legal situation could leave their biggest names facing an uncertain future if the club were ever pushed out of the Premier League.<\/p>\n
City insist they are innocent and intend to appeal, but another defeat in court could bring severe punishment. The possible sanctions include huge fines, a points deduction, a transfer ban and even relegation. For a squad built around elite talent, the consequences would be far-reaching.<\/p>\n
According to The Athletic\u2019s David Ornstein, City players do not have relegation clauses in their contracts. That detail matters. Relegation clauses are designed to protect players by giving them a route out at a reduced price if their club is demoted. In City\u2019s case, no such safety net appears to exist.<\/p>\n
The report says relegation was \u201cnever anywhere near on the agenda\u201d for a club that has not finished outside the top four in 16 years. It also notes that the charges were reportedly \u201cnot discussed in contract negotiations\u201d with new signings or when extensions were agreed, because the club expected a not guilty verdict.<\/p>\n
Without those clauses, any interested club would have to pay full value. That makes cut-price moves far less likely and leaves City in a stronger position to demand proper fees, even if a player wants out. Someone such as Erling Haaland would still be tied to City until his contract expires in 2034, unless another club reaches an agreement to sign him. Transfermarkt values the striker at \u20ac220 million ($249.4 million).<\/p>\n
Haaland is unlikely to lack admirers, but the situation could be more awkward for others. With no discounted exit built into their deals, City players may find their options limited, and a stay at the club could be extended until fresh terms are negotiated.<\/p>\n
The issue has also added pressure around England\u2019s camp. The attention has been especially intense on City\u2019s representatives: Marc Gu\u00e9hi, Nico O\u2019Reilly and Elliot Anderson. Harry Kane, meanwhile, is trying to keep the outside noise away from the England bubble.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Manchester City players may have no contractual escape if relegation follows a guilty verdict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[238,172],"tags":[59,180,182],"class_list":["post-20975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-city","category-epl","tag-featured","tag-player-news","tag-transfers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}