Manchester City have lodged a formal appeal against an independent commission’s finding that the club committed serious financial breaches between 2009/10 and 2017/18, meaning any sporting punishment, and the wave of speculative transfer scenarios surrounding stars such as Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, remains hypothetical for now.
Manchester City have formally appealed against a guilty verdict handed down by an independent commission, which found the club committed serious financial breaches across a nine-season period stretching from 2009/10 to 2017/18. The commission also upheld three of the four allegations that City failed to cooperate fully with the Premier League’s investigation. With no sporting punishment yet confirmed and the appeal now under way, speculation linking several of City’s leading players to rival clubs, including Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, remains purely hypothetical rather than reflective of any agreed or imminent transfer activity.
What the commission found
According to the ruling, the arrangements at the centre of the case artificially inflated Manchester City’s revenues and reduced the club’s costs by more than £900 million over the period in question. City have strongly disputed the findings, maintaining that the commission made serious errors of both fact and law in reaching its conclusions. The club’s appeal will now be heard by a newly constituted three-person commission, with no sporting sanction imposed at this stage simply because the original verdict has been issued.
Potential sanctions facing the club
A range of sanctions remain possible once the appeal process concludes, including a financial penalty, a points deduction, other sporting restrictions, relegation, or, in the most severe scenario, expulsion from the Premier League altogether. Expulsion would represent a considerably more serious outcome than relegation, as City would not simply drop into the Championship but would instead need to resolve their position within the wider English football pyramid entirely.
Why a ‘fire sale’ is not guaranteed
Despite widespread speculation about a potential mass departure of players should City face serious sporting sanctions, such an outcome would not necessarily follow automatically. City’s playing squad reportedly does not have standard relegation-release clauses written into their contracts. This means that even in the event of relegation, key players such as Erling Haaland, Rúben Dias, Jérémy Doku and Phil Foden would not automatically become available to rival clubs at predetermined, reduced transfer fees. Manchester City would retain the ability to demand substantial fees for any of their players, while those individuals would also have their own say in whether they wished to leave the club.
Players linked with potential moves
Among the players whose futures have been the subject of speculation is Erling Haaland, who has been linked with Arsenal, Manchester United and Real Madrid, though all three possibilities remain speculative at this stage. Given the length of his contract at City, any interested club would likely need to negotiate directly with Manchester City rather than relying on a relegation clause to facilitate a move. Nonetheless, Haaland’s situation would almost certainly become one of the biggest stories in English football were City to lose their place in the Premier League or the Champions League.
Marc Guéhi has also been mentioned as a potential target for Liverpool, who have previously sought to sign a new centre-back and have already been linked with the player. However, no Liverpool move has been confirmed as a result of City’s verdict. Guéhi’s situation is further complicated by a previously proposed transfer to Newcastle, when Crystal Palace had reportedly agreed a deal worth around £35 million, only for the move to collapse late in the process after Palace failed to secure a replacement.
Rúben Dias has similarly been mentioned as a possible target for Chelsea, though again, no move has been confirmed. Given his experience, leadership qualities and established role within City’s defence, Dias would likely be regarded as one of the club’s most valuable assets in any hypothetical squad restructuring.
Phil Foden’s situation has been highlighted as one of the more notable cases given his personal connection to the club. Born in Manchester and having progressed through City’s academy, any decision by Foden to remain at the club and help rebuild following a serious sanction would carry a different significance compared with a standard transfer. While the idea of City building a future side around him remains plausible as a scenario, there has been no confirmed announcement regarding his future either way.
What happens next
Crucially, Manchester City have not been relegated or expelled from the Premier League, and the final sporting punishment, if any, remains to be determined through the ongoing appeal process. As a result, the various transfer scenarios currently being discussed, including suggestions involving Haaland, Guéhi, Doku, Dias and other members of the squad, should be treated as speculative possibilities rather than expected outcomes. The next significant development in the case is expected to be the resolution of City’s appeal and the Premier League’s subsequent decision on any sporting punishment, rather than any immediate departure of players from the club.
