Even though the Manchester City He looks unstoppable as he has shown every year in the last five campaigns, but today he lives with fear and uncertainty around him.
They are the leaders of England. They have a bold goalscorer in Erling Haaland, who allows them to secure a victory every game day with his goals. Without a doubt, they are the team to beat and they have what it takes. But not everything that glitters is gold. Currently, City is going through a time full of mystery about what will happen with their future at the end of the season.
The Premier League and Manchester City are finally facing each other. Starting this Monday, three judges from the Dispute Resolution Centre, the arbitration court located in the heart of the City of London (the financial and legal centre of the city) will hear the parties, in what the media has already dubbed “the trial of the century”.
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Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (left) celebrates with teammates after opening the scoring during the Premier League match against Chelsea, Sunday, August 18, 2024.
AP Foto/Dave Shopland
The hearings, held behind closed doors, will last at least ten weeks. The verdict will not be known until next year, and can be appealed by both sides. The sports club is fighting tooth and nail against accusations that could even lead to its expulsion from the English league. The Premier League is determined to go all the way to ensure its authority remains intact in a near-death duel against a powerful, admired and beloved team.
The proceedings against Manchester City for 115 alleged financial violations between 2009 and 2018 could lead to the expulsion of the club with Arab owners from the English league.
The Premier League is clear about the situation: the absolute dominator of the league has breached the rules that the league requires of clubs by failing to provide “accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial situation.”
It should be noted, however, that The Premier League (should City be expelled from the league) cannot decide which division the ‘sky blue’ team would rejoin. They would simply expel City from the Premier League and in turn, it is understood, the English champions would request entry into the Championship… which they are under no obligation to accept.
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Leicester manager Enzo Maresca at the end of the English League Cup match against Liverpool on September 27, 2023, in Liverpool. Maresca will be Chelsea’s new manager and was Pep Guardiola’s assistant
AP/Jon Super
The case of Pep Guardiola and Manchester City
In his final year of contract with Manchester City, there are many doubts surrounding Pep Guardiola’s future.
The most recent questioning came after the Champions League match against Inter Milan when a reporter asked him if he saw himself working in Italy one day.
“I love English football, it’s fantastic, you really enjoy it. They let you do your job without getting in the way, which doesn’t happen anywhere else,” said the City manager.
Guardiola has been at City longer than he has been at any other club in his managerial career — and longer than anyone expected when he was appointed in 2016.
At the end of the campaign it will be nine years, compared to four with Barcelona and three with Bayern Munich.
“It’s a great club. I feel good here,” he said.
Guardiola surely knows that he will never find another elite club in Europe like City. With the backing of the Abu Dhabi royal family he has been able to build the team he wanted, spending exceptionally to build a team that has dominated the Premier League like no one else before.
