Following Everton’s recent FFP punishment, an unprecedented punishment in the Premier League, many football around the country and in the sporting world in general and wondering what might happen to Manchester City — or, in some cases, why something hasn’t happened already.
The Toffees saw a record 10-point deduction in the top-flight table as a result of breaking UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations following a league-wide audit of the clubs’ records for the 2021/22 season, in which they were found to have breached profit and sustainability rules.
Everton are said to have posted losses of nearly £372 million over a three-year period — a whole £250m more than is permitted within the league guidelines — and while they are obviously appealing the case based on various mitigating factors, it has placed one big elephant back in the room: Man City.
Burnley, Leeds, Leicester and Southampton, who were all relegated in recent seasons, could also be set to sue the Merseyside club for suffering as a result of their infringements, but with the Blues’ mammoth list of charges still looming large, it begs the question why hasn’t their case been dealt with first?
🚨 BREAKING: Everton handed 10-point penalty after independent commission hearing on alleged breach of Premier League profit & sustainability rules. Punishment applies immediately so #EFC drop into relegation zone for now. Expected to appeal @TheAthleticFChttps://t.co/1RqDpFYCpJ
Everton’s points deduction likely doesn’t spell good news for City.
While the storm might be circling around Goodison Park at present, with Everton now on just four points and second from bottom as we approach Christmas, the City Football Group (CFG) still has 115 charges said to span nearly a decade to their name and little action has been taken.
Having been flagged for breaches back in February, a month before Everton’s finances were first referred to an independent commission, not to mention Manchester United having been swiftly fined for a minor FFP breach of their own, there does seem to be an issue with parity.
It’s also worth reminding that City were already punished by UEFA back in 2020, being slapped with a €30m fine and a two-year ban from the Champions League, only for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn the decision.
The news has also drummed up talk of the failed Super League and how the clubs involved merely got a bit of a telling-off.
Well, the short answer is that Manchester City and the CFG haven’t been found guilty of anything, at least not yet. Whatever punishment they may or may not receive remains unknown as the investigation into their litany of charges is still ongoing and will likely take some time to reach its conclusion.
After all, compared to examining some bookkeeping discrepancies across three years, we’re talking about more than 100 different charges over the course of nine years and, for context, the last investigation (of which they were cleared) took around four years.
With that in mind, when taking into account the equally lengthy appeal processes that will be involved as well, as the club has insisted they are not guilty of the various UEFA breaches they are accused of, you can expect this case to rumble on for a quite while longer.
Moreover, if they are indeed found guilty, the process of going about punishment will prove to be even more complicated as how do you possibly go about deciding on a fair outcome and adequate compensation for other teams affected over such a lengthy period?
Before Everton’s points deduction, co-hosts Lineker and Shearer also had a lengthy discussion about FFP and the implications for City.
Sporting Intelligence journalist and football finance expert, Nick Harris, recently gave a lengthy explanation on The Rest is Football podcast, insisting that “there is just so much work that needed to be done to get to the point of charging them.”
Harris went on to add that “the other reason it has taken so long is because Man City have done what they can to stifle the process.
“In 2021 we were investigating what was happening with this case and, eventually, as a journalist I was able to get access to the high court and be able to report the process was ongoing when neither the Premier League nor Manchester City wanted it to be reported.
“What that told us was that Man City were using every legal tool they could to draw this out as long as possible and even since they were charged in February; they for example have challenged the legitimacy of the Premier League even to act against them which in itself is taking months to even get to the point where a commission will sit down and look at the evidence.”
So, the fact of the matter is that regardless of frustration amongst rival fans, neutrals and Toffees supporters, in particular, it looks like this already long, drawn-out case will very much be a waiting game.
Whether Everton’s points deduction is just a small taster of what’s to come for City remains to be seen but it seems hard to imagine the club possibly walking away with a slap on the wrist like last time.
When the news first began circulating, we broke down what the possible repercussions could be but, if found guilty, what do you think would be a fitting punishment?
Pep Guardiola hints at when Manchester City fans can expect to see their latest arrival
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has given supporters a rough timeline as to when they can expect to see their new signing, or at least their latest arrival, make his first appearance.
The Blues wrapped up the January transfer window with four major signings: their new attacking number seven, Omar Marmoush (who has already bagged a hattrick on his home debut) promising defensive duo, Abdukodir Khusanov and Brazilian Vitor Reis, as well as their ‘mini-Rodri’, Nico Gonzalez.
However, the club has had another late arrival who was technically signed back at the start of last year but who has spent for the last 12 months or so loaned back to his previous parent club, River Plate in Argentina, waiting to make the move over to the Etihad Stadium – and now he’s here in Manchester.
Speaking on his touchdown in 0161, Pep said Claudio Echeverri won’t be thrown into first-team action straight away but did give a rough estimate as to when City fans could expect him to get involved. You can see him discussing the integration plan in his post-match press conference following the Spurs win.
The mention was only brief but there’s still plenty of reason for Man City fans to be excited by the late January signing.
“Yeah, he [Claudio Echeverri] is going to start to train and mainly will be for the end of the season, maybe the [Club] World Cup and as soon as possible [that] he arrives he can adapt quick for the future.”
As mentioned, the 19-year-old Argentinian attacking midfielder from Resistencia officially put pen to paper with CFG back in January 2024 and was quickly dubbed ‘the next Messi’.
Now, although the football world is often quick to jump the gun with these things and he isn’t the first and certainly won’t be last to be slapped with this premature title, he’s done more to back up these claims since then than he has rubbish them.
Starring at the 2025 Under-20 South American Championships, netting six goals in nine games to finish the tournament as the second highest scorer thanks to notable braces against Brazil and Uruguay as the young Argentine’s finished as runners up.
He also notched 48 senior appearances for River Plate thus far, netting four goals and grabbing eight assists in that time, not to mention having already captained his national team at the 2023 Under 17s World Cup, where he scored another five.
Safe to say there’s plenty of talent to be tapped in this lad.
Once again, Echeverri won’t go straight into the senior set-up for a little while yet, barring a major injury crisis, but he’ll be a more than exciting addition to the City Football Academy and for future first-team lineups for years to come.
Who knows, maybe he’ll be included in an FA Cup matchday squad? Nevertheless, you can expect him to not just come of the bench but hopefully show what he can do at the Club World Cup this summer.
City‘s first fixture as reigning champions of the competition will be against Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June 2025.
You can watch Echeverri’s first full interview as a Man City player down below:
The new Man City signing is excited to be finally be part of the club 13 months on from agreeing his contract.
‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
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Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Danny Jones -
20th November 2023 
