Manchester City continue to wait for the outcome of their case involving 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules. The independent hearing concluded in December 2024, yet no decision has been announced by the three-person commission, even after more than 14 months.
The Premier League brought the charges against City in February 2023, covering a nine-year span, with accusations including financial misconduct and lack of cooperation. The club has consistently and strongly denied all allegations.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire, speaking recently on The Overlap, noted that around half a million pieces of evidence were submitted by both sides. He suggested the verdict is likely approaching, given the time elapsed and the complexity of coordinating the panel.
Maguire argued that, if found guilty, a points deduction would be the most appropriate sanction, as relegation to lower divisions falls under EFL jurisdiction and no EFL charges have been proven. Drawing comparisons to recent cases—Everton received deductions of six and four points (totaling around eight for breaches over shorter periods), and Nottingham Forest four points for one offense—Maguire pointed out City’s alleged violations span a much longer timeframe and involve far more serious scale.
He proposed that consistency would require “adding a zero” to those precedents, leading to a potential deduction of 40 to 60 points as a logical outcome.
Such a penalty, if applied now, would dramatically reshape the Premier League standings. With Manchester City currently on 56 points from 28 matches, a 60-point deduction would drop them to -4, placing them bottom of the table. This would see:
Arsenal surge 10 points clear at the top, with Aston Villa as their nearest rivals.
Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool each climb one position.
Brentford and Bournemouth gain ground toward European qualification.
Wolves escape immediate relegation danger but remain only 14 points ahead of City.
West Ham move safely out of the drop zone, 29 points clear of City.
For City to avoid relegation in this scenario, they would need to win all 11 remaining games while hoping West Ham collect no more than four points from their fixtures.
The delay in the verdict has drawn criticism, including from La Liga president Javier Tebas, who called it damaging to the Premier League’s reputation. Premier League CEO Richard Masters recently confirmed the matter is still awaiting resolution, with no further timeline provided
