Manchester City, a soccer club in the Premier League, was bought by Sheikh Mansour using a private investment in 2009. Since then, City has become one of the most well known soccer clubs across the globe. They’ve won eight league titles, four FA cups and three league cups in the span of nine years with Mansour.
However in 2018, accusations of City breaching and breaking the Premier League’s financial rules began leaking through emails. Investigations on the club lasted several years and a final verdict was reached in September 2026. City was found guilty of 114 of the 115 financial breaches.
City should be punished with a large fine and stripping of league titles and a possible relegation. Teams that played against City for larger games such as finals, for titles or cups, lost because they were at a disadvantage because of City’s cheating.
For context, City was spending more money than they were making on ticket prices, sponsors and commercial money. The Premier League brought a new rule in, which capped the amount of money a club could lose to $105 million over the course of three years.
City still wanted to spend money and miraculously, they began making more money in revenue than they had in years. With this new gain in revenue, they were inside the lines of the rules set by the league.
However, much of that money was not ethically earned.
City signed sponsorship deals with companies from Abu Dhabi, such as Etihad, Abu Dhabi Tourism , Etisalat, and many more. City booked the full value with these companies, but only a small amount of money was actually paid. In reality, the rest of the money was being paid by Mansour’s own company and personal wealth.
This is a large problem, as the owner of the club’s money is not allowed to be counted as revenue. Because this money doesn’t count, the actual revenue City lost was much greater than it was said to be and no longer within the guidelines the league had set years prior to this.
This leads to further trouble, as it can be seen that City was cheating for the past nine years. Meaning, they cheated during every game and for every title they had won.
“I feel like it gives City an unfair chance and it allows them to be really good,” junior Liam Boschen said. Boschen follows another team in the Premier League, Chelsea.
Many people are wondering what punishment City will face. Some options are the titles they won over the nine year time period, including three league cups, being stripped away and City being relegated and removed from the Premier League entirely.
Fans are also wondering what will happen to the star players on the team, such as Erling Haaland and Phil Foden. Will they leave the team in hopes of a new beginning with a new club or will they will they stay with a club that is now in serious trouble?
“I don’t think they should lose players. That should be their [players] choice, but I do think it [punishment] should be severe.” Boschen said.
Boschen believes some star players may leave the club.
“Haaland might, he knows he’s good enough to play somewhere else in the Champions League. He could easily go to PSG or Madrid.”
PSG plays in Ligue 1, the top French league, while Madrid plays in La Liga, the top Spanish league.
“I’m sure many players such as Erling Haaland would like to advance their careers elsewhere,” freshman Michael DeVone said. DeVone follows Manchester United, another team in the Premier League.
City appealed the charges and denied all wrong-doing, as of October 2026, the verdict likely won’t be released until January or February of 2027.
“I think Manchester City should be faced with relegation from the Premier league, a huge fine and the stripping of all Premier League titles during the time of offenses.” DeVone said.
