Uncertainty around the final verdict of the 115 charges faced by Manchester City could extend into next season, with rival clubs still in the dark about a timeline for a decision and legal experts warning that the process could run for many more months.
It is a frustrating scenario – not least for many at City, who are irritated at the cloud hanging over the club – but multiple sources have told The i Paper that the prospect of an imminent conclusion to the case is “unrealistic”.
City were hit with a slew of charges in February 2023 relating to alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules and a three-month hearing into the case concluded in December.
Pep Guardiola plans to spend big in the summer transfer window (Photo: Getty)Originally there was an expectation – heightened by comments from Pep Guardiola – that a decision would be arrived at in early spring, but that deadline has passed and the view of several sources is that the start of the summer “at the earliest” is now the more realistic scenario.
Legal experts have suggested that the scale of the case, the sheer amount of material to sift through and what is at stake for all parties means that a lengthy wait for the verdict was “always more likely”.
One believes that, with the potential for appeals to follow the initial verdict, the case could drag on for “another couple of years”.
“There is such a big media frenzy around it that people have almost forgotten that this is what happens quite regularly in arbitration,” Maxime van den Dijssel, a sports and litigation lawyer at Brandsmiths and an expert in arbitration, told The i Paper.
“Arbitrators won’t necessarily pay attention to the frenzy around it [the case]. They’ll have a lot of material to get through, the stakes are very high and they need to cover all bases. They won’t want to leave any room for either side to argue there is procedural unfairness.
“They will take that little bit longer to render a decision. It doesn’t necessarily indicate it’s going one way or another, it’s more a matter of them doing their job as carefully as possible.
“It does lead us into a position where we might not have a decision until leading into next season and then, subject to appeals, there’s going to be a lot of uncertainty about their placement in the league, how it impacts other clubs in the competition, so there is a lot we still don’t know.
“I’m not surprised it’s taking this long. It’s common for things to take this long. They have to all effectively sit in a room and decide and go through it, and when there’s that much material, it makes sense that it would take this long.”
Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz is another player on their radar (Photo: Getty)That threatens to prolong the uncertainty of clubs fighting for Champions League spots alongside City, who now look handily placed to finish the season in the Premier League’s top five after moving into third over the weekend.
There is a sense of bullishness at the Etihad about the future.
City intend to revitalise their squad in a bid to reclaim the Premier League title, planning to spend big in the summer transfer window on three or four players.
They have always adopted a “business-as-usual” approach to club affairs, insisting that they will be vindicated by the final decision of the independent commission investigating the charges.
Those inside the game believe that “only a handful of people” have any idea of when clarity will be offered on what is being dubbed football’s “trial of the century”.
One executive described the situation as a “waiting game” and there is a feeling among some that it is deeply unsatisfactory that yet another season will end without clarity.
City have been accused of not providing accurate financial information over nine seasons and punishments – if they are found guilty – could range from expulsion from the league to heavy points deductions and swingeing fines.
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But the club say they have “irrefutable evidence” that will clear them and have adopted a front-foot stance since the charges were levied, negotiating new, extended contracts for Erling Haaland and Guardiola himself.
And it is understood that plans are already well under way for a summer reset, with Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White among the priority targets identified by sporting director Hugo Viana. A deal is understood to be progressing for the England international.
As revealed by The i Paper earlier this year, City’s January spending spree – including the marquee signing of Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt – was only the first part of a plan to transform a squad that has visibly aged this season.
With Kevin De Bruyne on his way out – a decision taken by the club hierarchy even though the midfielder was keen to stay – they are looking to invest substantially to replace him.
City want Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and plan to offset the costs of their recruitment drive by making senior stars available, thus avoiding putting too much pressure on their position with regard to the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
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