Former Manchester City chairman warns 'something must affect their league status' after rule breaches

Bernstein, who served as Manchester City chairman between 1998 and 2003, believes the club must face severe sporting sanctions. Following the Premier League have proven the vast majority of the 115 charges, Bernstein told talkSPORT that the club's immense wealth makes standard fines meaningless.

"I would first of all say that financial penalties will not be enough," Bernstein said. "We're talking about a club with limitless pockets – money doesn't mean very much as we saw in the last transfer window – and whether it's [a fine of] £100m, £200m, that would not be sufficient."

The former chairman stressed that the punishment must directly affect their top flight status, suggesting an 80-point deduction or outright expulsion. "Unfortunately -I say all of these things with great sorrow, I really do, as a fan- I think there has to be something that will affect their league status," Bernstein explained.

"And if it was to be a points deduction, it depends on timing. Because if it was today, with the season just a few games in, and the points deduction had to be something that was terminal as far as their Premier League status was concerned, I worked out you'd have to have something like 80 points deducted, which would mean the club could not recover this season and would go down."

While Man City await the final consequences, rival clubs are already preparing their own legal responses. Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United have served formal notices reserving their right to claim damages, citing lost potential income due to the alleged cheating. These collective claims could reach as much as £800 million.

Between the years mentioned, Manchester City won eight Premier League titles, a Champions League, four FA Cups and seven EFL Cups. However, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak released a strong statement on Saturday denying the allegations. Al Mubarak declared that they remain confident of clearing their name and "proving the club’s innocence", arguing the process has lacked impartiality.

Man City will inevitably launch an appeal against the findings, which could significantly delay any final sporting sanctions. If the process drags on until the end of the season, the club could face automatic relegation instead of a points deduction. The Premier League and the footballing world will now watch closely for the official verdict and subsequent legal battles.