Man City to get away with it?! Club's bombshell expected 115 charges punishment revealed as verdict looms in long-running FFP case

The reigning Premier League champions have had at least 115 charges relating to supposed financial mismanagement hanging over their head since early 2023, when a four-year investigation into dealings at the Etihad Stadium was completed.

An independent hearing came to a close in late December, but no verdict has been delivered as yet. The expectation is that official word is now a matter of weeks away, with various punishments – ranging from points deductions to expulsion from the English top flight – being touted.

Journalist David Ornstein has told NBC Sports of where the protracted saga stands at present: “It’s just over two years ago since those charges and the feeling I get from speaking to people at and around the club is that we could be looking at a springtime verdict.

“So, maybe a month or two away and that feels pretty soon. Of course this is still subject to potential appeals in that process too, but the verdict would feel like a seismic moment whatever the outcome.”

City spent big again in the winter transfer window, bringing in the likes of Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez, while prolific Norwegian striker Erling Haaland has been handed a lucrative 10-year contract. That business hints at the club being confident that they will avoid the harshest possible sanctions.

Ornstein added on the mindset being adopted in Manchester: “The important point to say from City’s perspective is that they are totally confident that they will be exonerated and prove their innocence, so they’re operating as usual. We saw them do a lot of business in the January transfer window. None of that business, to my knowledge, was to pre-empt potential punishment because they don’t think they are going to be punished for these alleged breaches.

“In the contract negotiations they’ve been holding in recent years, the transfer talks that have taken place, no clauses have been inserted into those deals to say ‘if City are punished, this is going to happen’. Players want to join Manchester City and they are continuing with everything that they are doing.

“It had no impact on Pep Guardiola signing a new contract in autumn, on Erling Haaland in the story I broke in January, on [sporting director] Txiki Begiristain’s decision to leave the club as sporting director – that was long-planned, or Hugo Viana’s decision to replace him. Think that they are going to be fined, let’s see how it materialises.”

City remain in the hunt for a top-four finish this season and are still in FA Cup contention. They have tumbled out of the Champions League, but will form part of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup competition that is due to take place in the United States this summer.